Across Time
by freakyfanficgirl
Summary: In an old antique shop Lettie and her brother, Kyle, buy a mysterious hourglass with a matching key which they find out can travel through time. They use the hourglass to travel back to the American Revolution for Kyle to get research on a report, but during each event Lettie keeps seeing a Native American boy. What happens when they lose the hourglass and have to rely on that boy?
1. The hourglass

Summary: In an old antique shop Lettie and her brother, Kyle, buy a mysterious hourglass with a matching key. Upon using the two together they discover the hourglass is actually able to go through time after an incident in Rome, Italy. Kyle and Lettie use the hourglass to go back to the American Revolution for a report Kyle has to write. During each of the events from before and during the war, Lettie keeps running into a strange half-Native American boy. However, during one of the events the hourglass is stolen. Stuck in the 18th century the siblings must rely on complete strangers in order to return home before their present becomes their history's past.

Disclaimer for all chapters: I own nothing but Kyle and Lettie. Everything else belongs to Ubisoft and history itself.

* * *

**Across Time**

Chapter 1**  
**

History was always in the making. Every little event in a person's life soon becomes what their history is. Some events are the usual mundane and not really important while others are so important it impacts how people of the future can review it. But what if a person's history is made while reliving history of the past?

I wanted to cry or scream because I didn't want my history to be written like this. To remember in my future how I had to live in the past as my present. It wasn't entirely fair. This was all Kyle's fault! Why the hell did he have to drag me into this sort of thing anyway for something like a good grade? Then again, it was the temptation of that stupid hourglass that started it. And how our lives would be changed forever due to that one mundane afternoon...

In actuality I think it was my mother's fault our lives were changed forever. That afternoon on a cold winter's day Kyle and I decided to go shopping for our mother's birthday. Normally, we don't get her anything, but it was guilt she always got us gifts that prompted us to go buy one for her. We had decided to go look in one of the old antique shops in town. She has a love for anything old to decorate the house with and it seemed the most logical gift item to get.

However, we weren't having much luck.

"What about this?" Kyle asked, holding up an old oriental vase of white and blue porcelain.

"No, she's already got a dozen of those around the house," I said, taking the vase to place it back on its shelf.

"Oh, yeah. Then, how about that?" He pointed to a higher shelf where some creepy looking ceramic owls were sitting. Their painted yellow eyes peered down at us despite their varying shades of painted coats and with the shadows of the sun burning at our backs through the window it was creepier.

We shared a look.

"No," we said simultaneously. We went back to searching.

Man, looking for a good gift for Mom is harder than it looks. We loved our mother a lot but even we don't know what to get her. Dad says Mom would love whatever we buy her. If that's true, why didn't she use the Snuggie blanket we bought her for Christmas last year? All we wanted was to buy a good, practical gift she would utterly love. At home it seemed like a good idea to go shopping at an antique store. We thought we'd find a good gift. But standing in that cramped, dusty aisle with wooden shelves holding ceramic knickknacks and other miscellaneous things surrounding us, I wasn't so sure.

We spent about an hour looking through the shelves and we didn't find a single damn thing! Every weird ceramic animal, every oriental vase, and even some paintings, and we still haven't found anything! I frowned at a wooden cuckoo clock with a small orange bird peeking out its window. If we didn't find anything in a half hour, we're leaving.

Kyle obviously thought the same because he kept checking his watch. "Are we done yet? I have homework to do."

"Yeah, I guess we can leave." I sighed. This really wasn't getting us anywhere. Here I thought we'd find something Mom would love. I walked down the aisle intent on heading for the door. That's when something sparkled out of the corner of my eye. "Hm?"

"What is it?" he asked, hearing me hum. I barely noted him and went straight to what I saw.

I walked up to a shelf above me where I saw sunlight hitting something. Looking closer, I noticed it was a small hourglass. It was a pretty basic one that was made out of a light wood. I reached up for to take it down from its perch. When my fingers touched it I shivered. It was warm to the touch. Pretty reasonable considering the sun was hitting it. Ignoring the dust particles stirred up from the movement, I held it up to see the wood holding the glass bulbs were carved with tiny dark intricate patterns that almost looked mathematical in nature what with all the circles and lines interconnecting on another. The sand inside were a gold color, but I couldn't help but think it was glowing brightly. Must be my imagination. On both surfaces of the wooden bottoms I noticed how there were keyhole indentation. Weird.

"What's that?" The hourglass disappeared from my fingers as Kyle snatched them right out of my hands. He ignored my indignant cries to examine the small handheld piece himself. "Wow, cool hourglass! I always wanted one."

"We're not shopping for you, moron. We're trying to find a gift for Mom!"

"I know that. Keep your panties on. Just wanted to look at it."

My cheeks grew hot. I opened my mouth to never even say that word in public again (even if its in a dusty antique shop) when we heard a voice behind us.

"Oh? You've taken an interest in that?"

We jumped and looked over our shoulders. It was a woman in her thirties with straight black hair and pale skin. Dressed in a light dress, she had an apron over it that bore the store's logo. She was smiling at us, her eyes on the hourglass.

"Um, yeah. We're just looking, though," I said in my slightly high voice that I only used when taking to strangers. I snatched back the hourglass and was about to place it on the shelf.

"You know, there's a very interesting story about that hourglass," said the woman. She plucked it back off the shelf and held it delicately between her fingers. "They say that people in possession of his hourglass have been able to change history for themselves. Whoever possesses this hourglass will have a pleasant future by peering into the past."

"Pleasant future? How?" Kyle asked, intrigued. I was as well, but I didn't peer down at the hourglass closely like some kid.

She smiled mysteriously. "I'm not entirely sure myself. The last person who owned this hourglass was said to have changed and created his own history."

Well, that doesn't tell us much about the thing. People can create their own history if they tried hard enough. I frowned. This was obviously some kind of marketing technique to sucker morons into paying a lot of money for something useless. Only an idiot would fall for that kind of scheme.

"Really? That's awesome! So it's a good luck charm?" Kyle exclaimed, awed. I wanted to slap my forehead. Of course. I was related to a gullible idiot. He reached into his pocket for his wallet. "How much for it?"

"You have good taste," the woman complimented. She walked down the aisle way and turned a corner. We followed her to see her get behind the counter near an ancient cash register. "It's not that expensive. The hourglass is nine dollars and ninety-nine cents."

"That cheap?"

"I dunno. It's kinda expensive for a useless paperweight," I muttered behind him.

"It's not useless! You heard what she said. This thing could give me an awesome future! All my dreams will come true with it," Kyle argued.

"Yeah, because your dream is to own a small hourglass that let's you watch time grain by grain."

The woman rang up the register as Kyle handed her a ten dollar bill. She gave back the appropriate change, then placed the small breakable hourglass into a small cardboard box filled with styrofoam. She suddenly gasped.

"Oh! Before I forget..." She went towards the other side of the counter where there. Was a glass display full of old jewelry pieces from necklaces to bracelets. I kinda liked how some of them looked since I happen to like antique stuff like Mom. She pulled out a key to open the display and plucked something out from the mass of jewelry. Locking up the display, she came back to us and held out something in the palm of her hand. We peered closer to see an old antique key. It looked to be made of gold (probably fake). The same pattern markings on the hourglass decorated the surface of the neck faintly in a dark color matching the color of the wood on the hourglass. "This key is often coupled with the hourglass. When my grandmother, the owner of the shop, originally found the hourglass fifty years ago she found it with the key lying next to it. She knew the two weren't to be seperated, so they're usually bought together."

"Your grandmother found this? Where?" Kyle, the history nerd he was, asked.

"I'm not entirely sure. All she said was she found it to keep it away from those who might abuse it. Only those who truly know what they want can fully use this. It's been awhile since anyone's actually used this, though."

Didn't that sound ominous?

"So, do we have to pay for the key, too?" I asked suspiciously. If this was a marketing scheme, I swear I'm gonna kill Kyle.

She shook her head. "Like I said, the hourglass and key are meant to stay together. Since you already bought the hourglass, the key is for free."

"Really?" Kyle asked. He reached out a hand to grab the key from her hand, but I was faster. I grabbed the key before he could, thus earning protest from him. "Hey! That's mine!"

"Nope! You know I like collecting keys." Yeah, it's a weird habit of mine. I had an obsession with keys ever since I played the Kingdom Hearts game series. I'm not usually an RPG player, but the main weapon in the game started my fascination with all things key shaped or key-like. I placed the key in my pocket as I headed out of the store. Like I'm going to stay here a second longer.

I walked out into the cold January air. The antique store was next to some fashion shops, so the street was busy with shoppers. Not many people glanced at the tiny antique shop in favor of the larger brand name stores. How does a tiny business like an antique store stay in business with competition like this? I started walking back to my baby in the parking lot. From behind, I heard hurried footsteps approaching me and Kyle appeared beside me with a small paper bag in his hand. He frowned at him.

"I don't think its fair you're keeping the key. I paid for it," he justified sullenly.

"Does it look like I care what you think is fair?" I retorted. I walked up to the beat up old Harley motorcycle next to a handicapped spot. It was old, but its my baby. I spent three whole years working part time jobs to buy it on my own. I grabbed the black and red helmet and placed it on my head, reaching out to toss the white one to Kyle. He grumbled, placing it on while hiding his new purchase in the storage box I put in the back. Swinging my leg over over the huge machine, I started it up.

The engine roared due to its old age that made several people turn their heads toward the sound. When Kyle climbed behind me with his hands barely touching my hips to stay steady I kicked off the stand and steered my baby to go and leave. For one moment I faced the antique store we had just left. My eyes lingered on the store sign hanging near the door.

'Eagle's Nest,' it proclaimed proudly. An eagle eye was next to the name with its pupil a peculiar symbol. It was the tiny symbol that caught my attention. Huh. That's weird. It looks like a stylized A.

The next moment I had to turn out into the intersection, yet that symbol lingered in the corner of my thoughts all the way home.

* * *

Later that day, I was inside my house's computer room on the computer. I was doing some research on some Renaissance history for my art class. One of my classes in college was based on the history of art and, as you can guess, we were currently studying the Renaissance era. It really was a great era where people were then discovering their independence and opinions. The art was okay. Just because I'm taking an art history class doesn't mean I was actually interested in the class. Hell, I'm only taking the class so I can have enough credits to transfer to the University near my town! As I was looking up some of Leonardo da Vinci's work, Kyle entered the room.

"Hey, sis! Whatcha doin'?" he asked.

"Research," I answered monotonously. I was too absorbed in reading about how Leonardo ended up working as some kind of engineer for Cesare Borgia, the son of Pope Alexander the IV. I find it interesting how Leonardo was the original Renaissance man. The guy did everything from inventing to painting to music. The question what most people wondered was what DIDN'T he do?

"On what?" I felt Kyle come up behind my chair to peer over my shoulder. "Oh, you're researching Leonardo da Vinci?"

"No, I'm researching art styles. I just happened to read the guy's biography. Was there something you needed?" I asked, spinning around in the black leather swivel chair to face him. Kyle knows I hate it when people interrupt me when I do homework. I lose my train of thought. He has the same pet peeve when I bother him when he's doing homework. Facing him, I noticed the hourglass in his hands. It looked tiny in his large guy hands. In mine earlier my fingers were able to barely circle it.

He shrugged. "Not really. Just wanted to see what you were up to."

"Oh. How's your paperweight?"

"It's not a paperweight! And I happen to like it. It's pretty cool for something so ancient." It really was, I had to agree. He held it up to where the fading sunset's light shone through the window on my right to hit the glass of the hourglass. Again, it seemed like the yellow sands were grained from gold. It shone so bright I swear it should have been made from gold. He turned over the hourglass so the full sand at the bottom was suddenly on the top, little grains beginning to slip down the tiny hole to the new bottom. "I don't regret buying this. Something about this thing makes me feel like time is standing still."

"Obviously not," I said. I reached over and tapped the glass with my fingernail. "Each grain that falls is telling us every second time is passing. Time stands still for no one."

"I guess." Kyle seemed distracted. I had noticed his eyes were focused on the keyhole indention on the wooden end of the hourglass. His thumb ran over the indent. "Hey, Lettie? Do you think what that lady said was true? About people making their futures the way they want with this?"

I snorted. "Of course not. People can make their own futures the way they want without the help of something like that thing. It's the will of the person that decides how their future will turn out."

"Isn't that the same as what she said? Remember she said something about her grandmother's words? Only those who know what they truly want can fully use it."

"And what does that mean? It's an hourglass. It doesn't do much but be a timer."

He bit his lip, trying to think of an explanation. I went back to reading about Leonardo. Poor guy. How could anyone accuse him of being gay? Yeah, art can be a bit gay but that's good! It's a way for people to fully express themselves without doing something destructive. It's too bad he had to be commissioned by a guy in charge of the military. His inventions were to mark the start of new technology. He seems like a cool guy if he hadn't helped this guy, Cesare, in a war. Especially like the Borgia family.

"What about that key?" he asked. "Don't you find it weird how an hourglass is bought with a key? Why would it need a key?"

"Maybe it's an accessory?" I answered distractedly, eyes skimming over the biography.

"Why would an hourglass need a key as an accessory? I find it kinda weird."

"Well, the woman did say her grandma found the hourglass with the key."

"But still," he paused, his eyebrows furrowing. "Wait, don't you think it's even weirder how her grandma found this thing fifty years ago? Why hasn't it been sold yet? The thing was covered in dust when you found it."

"So what? It was an antique shop. Of course something's going to be really old and still be there. The place looked like it didn't get much business."

"Why wouldn't anyone was this with a story like having the possibility of making the future the way they want it?" he further questioned.

"I don't know! Stop asking all these questions already!" I spun back around, glaring at him. My irritation flashed through my brown eyes. He flinched back. "I don't know any of the answers to your conspiracy theories, okay? It's just a stupid hourglass that came with a key. It doesn't do anything except be a timer. Just stop."

"Then, explain the key. Why have a key and a keyhole marking on the hourglass?" Kyle challenged to my irritation.

"I don't know, decoration? It probably opens the lid of the thing to add more sand to it." He gave me a skeptical look. "Look, I'll prove it. Hand it over."

He did so without complaint. Holding the hourglass in one hand, I used the other to dig into my jeans for the key. I pulled it out, the metal as warm as the sun on a breezy day. It felt rather pleasant on my skin. I turned back to the desk to place the hourglass on its flat end so I didn't spill out any sand when the lid opens. Kyle, being the annoying jerk he was, came up behind me to place his forearms on my head and peered over the top of my head. Did he want to keep annoying the crap out of me? Brothers, I swear.

"Look. The lid will open and be nothing but to add sand," I said, lifting the key to insert it in the keyhole. It was a perfect fit. I began to turn it as I said, "This thing was a worthless buy. Now, stop bothering me so I can get back to reading about Leonardo-"

I was interrupted by a distinct click. I expected the lid to open on the hourglass. What I didn't expect was a sudden bright flash of light as a warm tingling sensation crawled up my spine. I gasped sharply, and by the gasp in my ear Kyle must have felt it, too. The bright flash of light was too sudden. I was forced to squeeze my eyes shut quickly so I wouldn't be rendered blind.

I wasn't entirely sure how much time passed with my eyes squeezed shut. All I knew was that by the time the light faded into a faint gold shimmer behind my eyelids I felt like I wouldn't see again. I opened my eyes, flinching at the spots dancing in my vision.

"Fuck!" Kyle shouted behind me. I turned to him at the sound of his voice, looking past the spots to see him rubbing his eyes. Blinking rapidly, the spots vanished to allow me to see Kyle properly. But that wasn't the only thing I saw properly. "Shit! What the hell was that? I think I'm blind!"

My jaw dropped. To be honest I thought for a second I had read _way _too much about the Renaissance and that I was dreaming. Because instead of seeing the computer room with its dull, drab painted walls, I found us standing on the roof of some building. It must have been a house because of the tiles of the roof beneath my bare feet. Off in the distance, I saw more more of the buildings as well as what looked liked a familiar coliseum in Rome. The sun was just setting, casting its orange glow across this unfamiliar/familiar setting.

"Um...Lettie?" I vaguely heard Kyle say quietly beside me. I met his eyes in a shocked and utterly confused glance. "Where are we?"

Where are we, indeed?

* * *

**Okay, I'm actually starting another fanfic since one of my other stories is coming to a close. I decided I needed a break from anime writing and focus on one of my favorite franchises: Assassin's Creed. I wanted to write a fic for this series for so long but I had to focus on writing for my other story. I'm writing for it now since I've been having Assassin's Creed 3 withdrawal and I'm currently reading Forsaken. For some reason I can't write for either Altair or Ezio because I can't connect with their characters very well. I don't know why I'm giving Connor this privilege, but it's because his game is the most recent I've played from start to finish with all his side missions completed fully. Seriously, I spent two hours on a single mission to get full synch and replaying it over and over until I got it right before I continued the main missions. Anyway, I hope no one kills me for the over used idea of 'Girl travels back in time, meets so-and-so, becomes an amazing Assassin, and/or fall in love with main character.' I hope its not like that since its not just a girl, but her brother trapped in time, too, and they can choose when and where to travel.**

**Wish me luck with this!  
**

**Reviews of all kinds are welcome! Tell me what you like, what you hate, anything! Just review!  
**


	2. A meeting with an Italian

**Across time**

****Chapter 2

"Are we in Rome? Like, Rome, ITALY? Because I'm pretty sure that's the Roman Coliseum, and unless our town decided to build an exact replica I don't think we're at home anymore," Kyle said, a hint of panic in his voice. Better than me. I felt like I was on the verge of hysteria.

"No, we have to be at home! I-I'm pretty sure this is just a dream. I must've fallen asleep doing homework again," I murmured to myself. This wasn't real. It had to be a dream. How else would I be in freakin' ROME in ITALY other than being in a dream? Especially after I started research on the Renaissance?

A sharp pinch on my side made me jump. I glared at Kyle while rubbing my hip where he pinched.

"You can't be dreaming. To be horribly cliched you can't feel pain in a dream. Not to mention we can't both be having the same dream," he reasoned. How can he have recovered from his panic attack so quickly? He should be freaking out as bad as I am!

"Then how do you explain this, huh? We're in Italy! When we were just in our computer room!"

"I don't know either! What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything! All I did was turn turn the key in the hourglass-" I froze. Wait a sec.

Our eyes zoned in on the hourglass I still held between my fingertips. The glass bulb glinted innocently in the sunshine despite what it had done to us with the key still inserted within the keyhole. No way. This thing couldn't have...

"You don't think...?" Kyle started, staring anxiously at it. He was just as scared about what the hourglass might have done to us.

"I have no idea."

He swiped the small hourglass from my hand. Luckily, I had managed to rip out the key from the keyhole before he took both away. He held the hourglass up to gazed at it, eyes burning with curiosity. How he could even manage that when all I was conscious of the panic blossoming in the pit of my stomach and rising like the steam from a tea kettle?

"Is this what that lady in the store was talking about? It took us to another destination where we could make our own future?" he questioned, thrilled.

"How does taking us to _Italy_ a way for us to make our future? I don't want to do anything in Italy!" I exclaimed. I was completely aware of my voice reaching high pitched tones normally reserved for when I'm scared.

He winced. He always described my scared tone with high and low syllables as a banshee on helium. "Maybe that's the way it works? It takes you to someplace you might have never expected to make your future?"

"I repeat, I don't want anything to do in Italy!"

"You there!"

Our little argument was interrupted by a voice further from us. Our attention was diverted to a man standing on a rooftop not too far from our own. What demanded our attention was the fact his clothes looked like something from a Renaissance fair with his dark tights, baggy and colorful tunic, and a funny hat. His clothes were the same color as the tiles on the roofs, so I almost didn't spot him. But then, my eyes zoomed in on the crossbow he held threateningly towards us.

"Get down from there! You are not permitted up here!" he warned. My eyes widened hearing the trill of rolling vowels I've only ever heard from those who spoke Italian. He obviously was, but why was I hearing him like he was speaking in an accented English?

"Um, sorry! We-We got lost and got up here to find our way around," Kyle lied. He held his hands behind his back to slip the hourglass into his back pocket. He smiled innocently.

But the man wasn't deceived by our lie or appearance. His eyes had narrowed at Kyle's action. I have to admit it wasn't very subtle about it.

"What do you have behind your back?" he demanded harshly.

"Nothing!" He lifted up his hands to show they were empty.

"You! What do you have there?" He pointed at me and I froze. I almost didn't realize what he said until he pointed his crossbow at me. Speaking of which, who owns crossbows they days? Guns were the way to go in this day and age.

I swallowed slightly, holding up my hands palms forward. The key was still in my right hand so my fingers couldn't hide it as they were wrapped around it to keep it from falling. This should've pacified his curiosity, but it made him more suspicious.

"Where did you get that?"

"It-It's mine," I squeaked quietly.

"Lies! Tell me who you stole that from!"

"Its her's, I swear!" Kyle defended. I was too scared to say anything for fear that crossbow might not be a prop like I hope it is.

"As if two thieves own such a thing," he scoffed.

"Thieves? But we're not-"

"Enough! Give me your key and belongings before I shoot!"

Kyle and I glanced at one another through the corner of our wide eyes. Both of us had a feeling he wasn't kidding at all and he wasn't so cosplayer. I was literally shaking by this point mostly because we were in some unfamiliar place with a guy threatening to shoot us with a crossbow. I've never been held at gun point before. Or is it cross point? God, I don't even know the proper term for it! Wait, why am I even thinking about what the term is? I might die if he ends up using that thing!

What Kyle did next was probably both the smartest and stupidest thing he's ever done when I looked back on his moment a few hours later.

One moment I was worrying about suddenly being skewered by a very fine very real arrow, and the next my hand is suddenly grabbed as Kyle started dragging me across the ceramic tiles yelling, "Run for it!"

My brain, as much as I hate to admit it, is slower compared to Kyle's quick thinking. I didn't understand what he wanted until the moment an arrow whizzed past me, barely skimming my face. Then, its like it decided to kick start in the face of death, because I found myself running as fast as I could behind Kyle hopping across rooftops while a man in tights was yelling at us to stop and running after us.

The two of us made quite a sight as we ran across the tanned rooftops of Rome. A pair of teenagers running for their lives from an angry and demented man in tights wielding a crossbow would certainly not be what I would want to see looking out my window. I don't even know how we managed to run so well what with the tiles being smooth. A few times I almost slipped on the ceramic tiles and nearly twisted my ankle. Don't even get me started how we jumped across the gaps between buildings! The first time we came across a gap, I had yelped as we bounded over it like jumping on a dry stone in the middle of a stream. The gap was small, but it still freaked me out with the ground in plain sight ten feet below us. It really didn't help with the guy behind us firing his arrows at us.

So it was a miracle Kyle and I managed to run with arrows firing at us from behind without getting pierced by one already.

I squeaked as an arrow skimmed near my cheek, nicking a few strands from my brown hair. "Kyle! We need to hide!"

He quickly scanned the rooftops for some way of escape. His eyes landed on a ladder on the building approaching us on the right. How convenient. "There! We need to get down and lose this guy!"

We scrambled towards the building, hopping awkwardly across the gap. Reaching for the ladder, Kyle allowed me to climb down first. Unfortunately for me, I was rather slow on the climb down.

"Move!" he urged, glancing over his shoulder to where the guy was approaching us.

"I'm going as fast as I can!" I yelled back, slowly climbing down rung by rung. I was more worried about breaking my neck climbing down this thing rather than the man chasing us.

"Then, go faster!"

I opened my mouth to tell him he wasn't moving any faster than I was when an arrow embedded itself right next to my hand clutching the sides of the ladder. The shock of the arrow caused me to flinch violently back, making me lose my grip.

"Lettie!" Kyle yelled above me as I fell backwards.

_Oh, shit! Oh, shit!_ I screamed internally, falling through the air as gravity pulled me down. I didn't even have time to scream because of how scared I was. But unlike the quick death or pain to hit me, I suddenly found my vision engulfed by little pinpricks of light and something pointy itching my nose. I wrinkled my nose and sneezed. Ugh! Did I land in hay? By the yellow color of the straw poking me where my skin was revealed, it was. I never imagined for hay to smell quite this bad. I always thought it had a neutral scent. Guess I was wrong.

Before I could continue my wonderful and enlightening observation, a hand shot inside through the hay to grab my forearm where it proceeded to drag me out into the open air. Oh, sweet air! I didn't have time to gulp in the slightly fresh air as I was forced on my feet and pushed towards a random direction.

"Come on! Quit being so slow!" Kyle commanded, pulling along my useless self. He dragged me across the empty lot in the center of a niche of buildings into an alleyway. The alleyway opened up into a street filled with people and stalls. He faltered, however, as we both noticed the people around us wore dresses and tights not of the twenty-first century. To be more accurate they looked like they belonged at a Renaissance fair. "What the fu-"

He was cut off by the yell behind us. Looking over our shoulders, it turned out to be the guard man. Seriously, didn't he know when to give up? Obviously not, as he called for reinforcements and more burly guards covered in metal armor came out of nowhere. All were armed to the teeth with weapons of swords and lances. Well, damn.

Kyle pushed me towards a cluster of people in a silent command of run. We seemed to be doing a lot of that. Despite my burning lungs, I did as he commanded and ran through the crowd without looking behind me.

The people around me gasped when I all but barreled through them to streak down the street as fast I could. My trainers pounded against the dirt street while the sounds of guards yelling for me to stop were filtered by my pounding heart in my ears. I couldn't even think except see the alley opening up coming in my left. I rounded the corner into another alley that led into a different street, which I ran down as well until I could turn the nearest corner.

This process repeated itself of running down a street, taking as many twists and turns in order to lose my pursuers. I wasn't too sure of where I was going myself other than to get away from the men in armor who had the potential to kill me. A voice in my head told me I was getting myself lost, but a large part of me screamed for my survival and safety.

I turned yet another corner into an alleyway shrouded in shadows by the setting sun. My legs nearly gave out as I jogged to a halt, pants leaving my mouth heavily. Oh, Gods. I haven't done that much running since my gym final back in my sophomore year of high school. My legs were burning, I could barely breathe, and my sides were hurting like no other. I knew I was out of shape, but I didn't think it was this bad. As soon as I get home, I swear I'll force myself to go jogging more often. Twice a week wasn't enough.

I leaned against the tanned brick wall behind me while panting like crazy. I must have been standing there for some time, because some people who passed the mouth of the alley would stare at me openly and in disgust. The latter mostly came from the women. They were wearing modest, frilly dresses I would never think of wearing except for Halloween. Compared to my jeans and grey camisole revealing my shoulders and a good amount of my chest just short of my cleavage, they must have thought I was a prostitute or something.

"I can't believe I just called myself a prostitute," I muttered to myself in disgust. Was it illegal to wear something so comfortable? Those dresses must have been heavy in this blistering Italian heat. I paused. Wait a minute. Why was everyone dressed in Renaissance clothing? Am I in the middle of a flash mob or something or a Renaissance convention? I don't even think they even have such things as Renaissance conventions in Rome. I always thought it was about the Coliseum and the Roman soldiers that had dress-ups. Then, what the hell was going on? And where's Kyle?

Where's...Kyle?

I started, whirling around to search for him and smacked my forehead. I can't believe this! I was so focused on escaping the guards I ended up losing Kyle, too. I'm such an idiot! I'm in some foreign city where I mystically began understanding a language I've never studied with guards chasing me and without my brother. Great! Could things get any worse?

"Who do we have here?"

And the screwed up deity that is Lady Luck decided to abandon me, I thought sourly. From my right further down that led to a courtyard a group of guards appeared. They weren't the same guards who were chasing me earlier. They obviously didn't know I was one of the people being chased halfway across the city. One of them, a big guy with a silver metal chest plate, was the one who said it and was leering at me in a way that sent shivers down my spine.

"What are you doing here? Should you not be with an escort, carissima (darling)?" he asked in a sickly polite tone. The very sound of it made me wince. The fake politeness grated my very nerves.

"I-I suppose. I'll be leaving now then. My escort must be looking for me," I squeaked quietly like a mouse. I kept my head down so I wouldn't meet their eyes. I don't particularly like meeting other people's eyes. I turned towards the street again. "I-I'll be going now. Excuse me!"

I tried to leave, hoping they wouldn't follow me. But another man, one who wore no armor but a chest plate and a bow slung across his back, placed his hand on the wall next to my head to cut off my escape route. He looked at me with lewd grin.

"What's the rush? We can escort you home," he suggested.

"I'd-I don't want to trouble you." I backed away from the man to bump into another guy from behind me. My heart started racing as I realized the four guards had surrounded me. I've read enough books and watched enough TV to know where this is going. I skittered away from the guy from behind and tried not to touch any of them.

"It's no trouble at all. If anything, you would be...entertaining us," the big guard in the armor chuckled. He was in front of me, lifting his hand to my chin to force me to look up at his unshaven face. I stared at him for a brief second with wide, frightened eyes before I quickly looked away. It was getting harder to breathe with how fast my heart was racing. "Hm...She is quite exotic, no? Her eyes sparkle as green as a jewel."

"She would do well enough," answered the guard who blocked me. "She must certainly be one of the courtesans with such a suggestive outfit."

Instinctively, I crossed my arms to cover my cleavage. I knew they were talking about THAT with my breasts nearly hanging out. Not that I wanted them to! I happen to wear shirts over my camisoles and wear them on their own in the safety of my home. How was I supposed to know I'd be transported to freakin' Italy? My action caused them to laugh.

"Ah, she must be new at this," laughed the guard on my right licentiously.

"Please, leave me alone," I pleaded, finding my voice enough to protest.

"Do not worry, Signora. We will take good care of you." The guard in front of me pressed me closer to the wall, barely giving me room to breathe.

I knew there wasn't much I could do in this situation. I've always seen and heard about this kind of thing happening to girls, but thought nothing of it. Right now, I'm sorry I never gave the effort of what those girls could truly be thinking in this situation. Like how they could feel utterly helpless against guys who can easily overpower them. That sucks, and I really wish I owned pepper spray so I had something to do. At the moment I was too scared to do anything but shake uncontrollably and panic. The guard holding my chin tightened as i felt hot, smelly breathing brush against my already flush cheeks. I squeezed my eyes shut, praying to whatever entity ruled the world. I hope this wouldn't be as painful as I've read.

It never came.

What did come were the shouts suddenly surrounding me, the hand touching me loosening, and the sound of bodies hitting the ground and pained cries. I reopened my eyes to see a brief blur, then suddenly an alleyway full of dead guards. Among those guards stood a man completely in white with a hood covering his head. In one of his hands was a bloodied sword. Holy shit! Did this guy just kill a bunch of heavily armed guards single handedly? The guy was heavily armed himself from the sword to the crossbow on his back. The man turned to me and I suddenly felt very afraid for my life.

The man sheathed his sword and held up his hands. He must have seen how scared I was. Most people would be if they were a witness to a murder! Not to mention this hulking guy who can easily kill me like those guards!

"I mean you no harm, signorina," the man said in a husky Italian voice. It was pretty sexy. He approached me and I pressed myself further into the wall. "I was passing through when I heard your pleas. You are safe now."

"You swear? You're not going to kill me either, are you?" I demanded, my voice shaking. No way was I going to trust this guy after that gruesome display and what nearly happened to me.

To my irritation he chuckled.

"No, I make it a habit not to stain my blade with the blood of innocents. Especially strange women such as yourself."

I wanted to retort how strange he looked in that white getup. Seriously, what was with the cape on only one shoulder? It wasn't symmetrical at all! But considering how he saved my innocence and possibly my life I'll let it slide.

"Well, that's good. Thanks for saving me, uh, ser," I said, remembering my manners. I rubbed my arm, eyes darting to the open mouth leading towards the street. Where the heck was Kyle?

"You should head home. It is not safe for a young lady to be walking around at the moment," the man urged.

"And why's that?"

The man opened his mouth to say the reason. Unfortunately, he was interrupted by the shouts of someone at the open alley. It was another guard who was convientantly walking by to spot the bloodied alley and us.

"Assassino! The assassin is here!" the guard cried out for everyone within ten feet to hear.

"Merda (Shit)!" the man cursed. "Come! We must go!"

"What?!" I protested. I gasped when the man picked me up and threw me over his shoulder. Squeaking, I held onto his shoulder as he started running through the alley into another street at the opposite end. Being in the backseat I could see a whole group of heavily armed guards chasing after us until the man turned two corners. "What did you do?!"

"That's not important at the moment," he answered.

"Obviously it is if guards are chasing you!"

The troop chasing us had nearly doubled as we passed more guards. Apparently, they wanted to join the chase scene. There's a lot of chasing today, I noticed sourly. They were still in sight because they were adamant in chasing after this man. Why?

The strange man continued the chase, going through as many twists and turns through several districts. At this point if I was chasing this guy and I happened to be a guard, I would have given up. Unlike me, the men were dedicated to their job of trying to arrest this man. They would resort to violence if possible when I nearly got shot by a guard who happened to be on the rooftops. Luckily, the man managed to swerve out of the way and hit the back of the man's armored plate next to me.

I wasn't sure how long the guards had been chasing us. The man's armor was digging into my gut every time he turned a sharp corner, which were several after the guards blocked off his path a couple times. There were always alleyways for the man to escape through. We were probably halfway across the city and most likely running for quite awhile, because the sun had already set. This guy had stamina, that's for sure.

"Why haven't they given up?" I shouted to the man above the guards cursing behind him.

"They don't know when to give up, do they?" the man panted lightly.

"Then, how are you going to lose them?"

"Like this!" He made another sharp corner, pulling me off his shoulder in the process. For a brief moment I was able to see we had appeared in a smaller intersection away from the bigger streets with people still out and about. Then, muscular arms that were wrapped around me suddenly threw me. I didn't much time to gasp much less scream before my vision was once again impaired. Wet leaves invaded my senses. I sat slightly up and the palm of my hand brushed against smooth wood beneath my fingertips. The leaves shifted again as a heavier weight settled on top of me, nearly knocking the air out of me.

"Mi dispiace (I'm sorry)," the man whispered somewhere above me. The leaves above me slightly shifted to allow me to get a better view of the man. From the way he kept shifting around, I could feel him move his legs off my stomach to rest on both sides of my hips. His forearms were placed on both sides of my head. He leaned in close so his head would poke out of the leaves. My face grew instantly hot. I've never been in such a position with another man that wasn't family, especially one like this. I turned my head so I would have to face the man with my thoughts going straight to the gutter. Damn my teenaged hormone idled brain! It was made worse when the man chuckled lowly. "Forgive me. I would not be in such a position if it were not necessary. Normally, this is not how I would treat a young lady in these circumstances."

"It-It's fine," I stuttered. "How long until the guards stop chasing us?"

"Most likely awhile."

In the background we could hear the guards yelling at their comrades for any sign of us. They kept running past the pile of leaves in what I could assume is a cart to look for us. Not one of them stopped to inspect the innocent pile. Which I find odd.

"They're not very good guards, are they?" I murmured to myself. Being so close, the man heard me.

"How so?"

"If I was a guard, I'd be checking every possible hiding place two grown people could hide in. They haven't even decided to check a pile of leaves yet."

"You bring up a good point. However, we should be lucky they have not checked this place. We would still be running, si?"

"I guess." It still bothered me, though. It was common logic! Always check the most obvious places where one could hide. Its what I do when I play hide and seek with my younger cousins.

We fell silent, waiting for the guards to stop their search for us. While the man kept an ear out for the noise to stop, I had time to think about all of the events leading up to my current position. Okay, let me get this straight. After using a simple hourglass and key, Kyle and I somehow managed to reappear on a rooftop in the middle of Rome. That's a bit weird, yes, with the fact I swear up and down these people would have never spoken a lick of English in their entire lives, yet they sound like they're speaking it plain as day. AND for some strange reason, everyone is dressed like its the Renaissance period and fight with weapons out of fantasy book like lances, swords, and crossbows. My head couldn't wrap around the entire thing, but due to the fact I like to read sci-fi novels and shows I could only come up with one solution to why all of this was possible.

Time travel.

It sounded ridiculous and completely insane, but it was the only logical explanation I could come up with. If it were only Rome, I would think of something else. However, because of the way people were dressed as well as the way they spoke (with little to no contractions) time travel was the only conclusion. With this conclusion more questions arose. How was it possible we traveled through time? How did we get here? Did it randomly choose a time? That couldnt be possible. Wasn't it a coincidence we ended up in a time period I was researching and thinking about just before we arrived here? None of this made sense! I was too freaked out to think properly after nearly being attacked and rescued.

I huffed mentally. I need more time to think about this. It was frustrating me to no end.

"Signorina (Miss)?" said the man, touching my shoulder to break me from my thoughts. "The guards have passed. It is safe to come out now."

"Oh. Okay."

Nodding, the man pulled himself out of the cart of leaves. I managed to get on my knees, which screamed in protest, to poke my head out the side. I squinted my eyes to see we were in some kind of market streets with stalls and crates around the center and sides of the street with various wares on sale. Some of them were closed because of the night settling upon the city, but there were still many people around. The man brushed off stray leaves from his clothes, then held out a hand for me. I took it, allowing him to safely pull me out of the cart and onto my feet.

"Well, that was fun," I said with a touch of sarcasm. "But I don't think I'm going to be doing any of that anymore."

"You shouldn't make it a habit of attracting guards," the man chuckled. He reached a hand over to pluck a leave out of my hair.

"Like you're one to talk! Why were those guards after you?" The only reason I was caught up in this chase was because of him! He suddenly grabbed me and brought me on his little goose chase!

He shrugged. "I was merely passing when they have chase. I have done nothing wrong."

I frowned. Why do I get the feeling he was lying? Something in his voice sounded half-hearted. I wanted to ask except that wasn't how I was. I don't demand people to pour out their troubles and worries to a mere stranger. Their business is their business. I have no right to pry into their lives.

"Oh. Okay. So..." I dragged out the word, awkwardly facing the man. "Thanks for your help. I really appreciate it. I should be getting home."

"Nessun problema (No problem), signorina. But if I may ask something?"

"Um, sure. What is it?"

"I realize you are not around here. Do you suppose it is a good idea to walk around dressed as you are?" The man gestured to my jeans and camisole. "It is, after all, what attracted attention in the first place."

I consciously crossed my arms to cover my chest. "It isn't. But there's nothing I can do about it. I don't have any other clothes with me."

"But it isn't safe for you to walk home on your own. You would end up attracting guards again."

"Then what do you propose I do, sir?"

Beneath his hood, I could feel the man studying me for a second. Why, I didn't know. He stared at me for a moment before he pulled for the white cape on his shoulder and offered it to me.

"I think it would be safer if I were to escort you home," he answered.

"You can't."

"And why is that?"

"Well, one, I don't have a home," I began to list, using my fingers to count off the reasons why escorting me home was a bad idea. "Two, even if I did have a home I shouldn't let a complete stranger walk me home."

"Even if the stranger saved your life?" he inquired curiously.

"Especially if he saved my life. What if you did that to gain my trust so you could do the same thing? You didn't even give me your name!"

"You are a cautious young woman, aren't you? I can ensure you, Signora, if I had intentions of doing such a thing with you I would go about it without forcing you. You would be begging me instead," he explained with a charming smile. My face grew hot with his explaination. Oh, shit. Is he starting to flirt with me? He is kind of hot with the beard and all, and I did like older men. No, wait! Stupid hormones! Focus! "As it is, you are correct in being suspicious. I have not given you my name nor have I treated you kindly before dragging you around the city."

The man bowed his head respectfully. Then, he grabbed my hand and lifted it to his lips to brush lightly against my knuckles. "My name is Ezio Auditore da Firenze. May I inquire to who you are?"

"A-Arlette Vinova," I stuttered. My blush deepened ten fold. Oh, Gods! No one does that hand kissing anymore! I nervously took my hand back to me. I have to focus. Just because I've never been flirted with so openly before doesn't mean I should lose my head. I'm not that much of a romantic. Okay, maybe I am, but still. "Just because you tell me your name doesn't mean I can trust you. I was always taught to never trust strangers."

"Then, where is the fun in that? Should you not trust a stranger? That is the way to get to know other people, Arlette."

"Call me Lettie. And, how can I trust a stranger who killed guards so easily?"

"Those guards would have had their way with you if I hadn't intervene," he argued.

"That doesn't make it okay for me to trust you." I paused. Wait, what was I doing? Here was a nice stranger who not only saved my life, but he was offering to escort me home. Well, I didn't have a home. But, at least he was offering to help me. I groaned. Damn, am I being rude? I hate being rude without knowing it; even to complete strangers like Ezio. He was just trying to help me. I heaved a sigh. "I'm sorry, Ser Ezio. I'm really stressed at the moment. My brother and I arrived in the city a few hours ago and I've lost track of him. I don't do well in cities on my own and after being harassed by guards, well..."

"No, I understand," Ezio said. "You are in an unfamiliar city on your own. I know it must be hard with what has happened to you. Perhaps I can help you find your brother?"

"...That would be nice," I admitted. There's not much choice I have. I'm in Rome with little to no help. I might as well as take all the help I can get while I can. "Thank you."

"Prego (You're welcome), Lettie."

With that all said and done Ezio placed his cape on my shoulders. Being so much bigger than me the cape managed to wrap around my shoulders. I grabbed the ends of it and pulled it tightly around me, taking in the warmth from being on the man. I'm kind of ashamed to admit I also took in the scent on it. It did smell like its been tossed around in mud and sweat. Beneath it I could scent out an earthy smell and slight flowery perfume on it. Huh, that's weird. Smells like a woman's perfume.

Ezio instructed me to wait for him in a small courtyard nearby. He said it would be faster if he went out to search for Kyle on his own and bring him back. At first I wasn't sure of the plan. What if something happened to me again while he was gone? I attract the same amount of trouble as Kyle does when he doesn't pay attention. But, Ezio reassured me I would be fine. With much reluctance I did as he asked while telling him to search for a boy who looks like my twin with short curly hair and glasses. Being so close in age, we looked almost exactly alike. While he has short auburn hair, I have wavy brown hair. He heard the information and left me in the courtyard with only the moon above as my company.

Waiting for Ezio was probably the longest three hours of my life. Yes, I waited almost three hours for him from the time on my watch. The first hour was okay. I had decided to sit on a bench in the courtyard with my legs pulled in on it and the cape wrapped around me like a blanket. It provided some warmth to the slightly cold air. It might not really be cold, but I was wearing a camisole. Not much for warmth upstairs. During the second hour, I was bored and lay on my back on the bench. The courtyard was still empty. At this point I was bored enough to rethink about this situation.

How was it possible that an hourglass sent me and Kyle back in time? I mean, an hourglass? Really, how cliche is that? At least give me a time traveling space ship like the TARDIS or a Vortex Manipulator to let me travel through time. An hourglass and key were so unoriginal. But all joking aside, this shouldn't be possible. Time travel was the stuff of fiction. Scientifically, it shouldn't even be real. Yeah, there are a bunch of shows, movies, and books on the subject. But, it can't be done. How can an old fashioned antique hourglass and key have the power to do what most people can only dream of achieving? I thought back to when it sent us through time. The warm tingling sensation and the bright light were the only real clues to the fact it worked. However, when it was used I felt the raw power within the two items as the hourglass activated. It was something so unimaginable and so tempting it could bring men to its knees just at the thought of using it. The kind of power most people would, and could kill for.

I took out the key from my pocket, where I placed it during my first escape from the guards. I held it precariously above me, holding it to the moon above. In the dark I could finally see that the key wasn't just shiny earlier when the sun hit it. It was actually GLOWING. The patterns on the key were shining dimly in the light just enough for it to glow. So it wasn't just the metal. It was the key itself. The glowing was enough to make me believe that the key and hourglass had raw power. And for fifty years that raw power had been sitting in a dusty old antique shop in the middle of Seattle. Unbelievable.

Was it fate that led me to first notice the hourglass? Because if I had never noticed it, I wouldn't be here in Rome, Italy in its past. I wanted to cry out of frustration. Why did it have to be me and Kyle who traveled back in time? It was cool and amazing to see the past, but that's what it should be: the past. I didn't want to experience it myself. I'll read about it, yes, except I didn't want to have a first hand account of how things happened. What happens if we get stuck in the past if we keep using it? What will happen then? Will Kyle and I be forced to live in a past that's already happened for us? Will we have to forget we lived in the future at all? Still, another part of me was glad me and Kyle had the key and hourglass. If not us, a couple of teens who were quite responsible, who then? The hourglass could have been used by people who would change the past to fit their own image. Not everyone would come to like that image. So, it was a good thing we found it when we did. That didn't mean I liked using it.

I sighed, closing my eyes to listen to the chatter of people around me. Although it was nighttime, there were those night owls who refused to stay indoors in hopes of having a bit of fun with the cover of shadows night provided. My nose twitched at the smell of food wafting in the air. Damn, I'm hungry. When we left it was almost around dinner time. Despite my hunger, I also realized how tired I was from all that running as a yawn erupted through my mouth. The bench was cold and hard across my back. That didn't stop me as I began to relax. I'm sure Ezio won't mind if I close my eyes for a second, would he? Not like he can find Kyle in record time in a city this huge for its age.

With that thought I allowed myself to relax fully.

I think I had my eyes closed for what felt like ten minutes. I was jerked awake as a hand touched my shoulder again and began shaking me.

"Arlette, I don't think sleeping on a bench in the middle of a dangerous district is wise," said the deep voice of Ezio above.

"Sorry, sorry. You were taking awhile," I mumbled. I opened my eyes, rubbing them, then sat up with my legs swinging back to the ground.

"That's my sister for ya. She can fall asleep in the middle of a city."

My attention snapped to focus. I zeroed in on Kyle, who was standing near Ezio with a small smile as he stared at me.

"Oh, like you're any better! What about that one time you fell asleep in the middle of the market?" I retorted, taking great care not to mention any future terms. Ezio would get more suspicious if I said something weird in front of him. I stood up to walk over to him.

"True, true." To my surprise he suddenly threw his arms around me into a tight hug. "Geez, don't worry me like that! When I couldn't find you anywhere I thought you were dead or something! What was I going to tell Mom and Dad?"

"You were more worried about what you were going to tell them? Instead of my own safety? Asshole!" I shoved my stupid brother off me, glaring daggers at him. If it was possible to have heat ray vision, he'd be a smoldering pile right now. "I almost got myself raped and killed before getting dragged away from guards chasing us! Where the hell were you during all of that?"

"Looking for you! Give me some credit, sis. I'm not that heartless. If it weren't for this guy, I wouldn't have found you," he said, waving over to Ezio. He was nearby to let us have our little reunion.

I bit my lip to not spew more curses at him. I couldn't really do that with Ezio staring at us, amused. I let out a steady breath.

"Where did you find him?" I asked.

"By the river. As he said he was searching for you."

"See! I do care about your safety," Kyle interjected triumphantly.

I rolled my eyes. Only my brother. How did he get away with being safe in an unfamiliar city while I kept running into guards? That makes no sense. I took off the cape from my shoulders to hand it back to Ezio.

"It was nice meeting you, Ser Ezio, but we've gotta go," I told the strange Italian man. "Again, thanks for saving my life multiple times."

"It was my pleasure, signora. Perhaps the next time we meet it is not under such conditions," he said, chuckling.

Yeah, sure. Next time I see you is probably going to be at your grave.

"Hopefully," I vaguely said. I grabbed the sleeve of Kyle's sweater and started to drag him away from the courtyard into the slightly empty street. I tried to ignore the fact he was giving Ezio a confused death glare. I gave one last wave over my shoulder. "Goodbye, Signore Auditore."

"Farewell, Signorina Vinova," Ezio called after. He too turned away to walk down the street. I stared after him and when a person walked in front of my vision Ezio was suddenly gone. I blinked. How did he...? Okay, that's weird. Cool, but weird.

I pushed Kyle into the nearest empty alley. After looking around to see if anyone was there, Kyle pulled out the hourglass.

"So. Who was that guy?" Kyle asked casually.

"The guy who saved my virginity," I answered, pulling the key out of my pocket.

"No, really. Who?"

"Dunno. He said his name was Ezio Auditore da Firenze. Long name."

"He's from Florence?"

I stared at him incredulously. He shrugged.

"The last part of the title is usually where they're from. That's how it works. When he said da Firenze it means he's from Florence as that's the Italian name used for the city. Like Leonardo da Vinci is from Vinci. The fact this Auditore guy has a last name must mean he's a noble. Peasants and those of the middle class don't usually have last names. No real need for it."

I got the gist of what he was saying, but God, I couldn't help but giggle.

"You history nut," I teased.

"Yeah, yeah. Let's get out of here already. I don't want to be chased by guards if they find out we're here."

I couldn't agree more. I inserted the key into the keyhole like I did the first time and thought of home and the date. I wasn't sure how this hourglass thing worked but I'm pretty sure because we were thinking about Renaissance Italy at the time we used it it worked. Sure enough, the warm tingling feeling crawled up my spine pleasantly. In another instance there was a bright flash of light.

When the light faded we found ourselves standing back in our computer room. Blinking, I peeked a look at the computer for the time. We weren't gone for more than ten minutes. No way! That's impossible! Glancing out the window, I could still see the setting sun. My jaw dropped. We were gone for more than an hour and yet no time passed.

"Whoa! We're back!" Kyle exclaimed in awe. We both collapsed onto piece of furniture-me on the couch nearby, him at the swivel chair.

"I never want to do that again," I said, tossing the hourglass far away from me on the couch.

"I can't believe we traveled through time." He picked up the hourglass to examine it more closely. "What about this small thing makes it possible to travel through time? Can anyone use it if they had both this and the key? People can change the future with this thing with them!"

"No!" I swiped it away from him and hit him on the head. "If I learned anything from a bunch of time travel stories, its that you can't change the past! What if you changed history and suddenly we're in some cyborg/zombie apocalypse? We might even kill our ancestors and we might never exist! Do you want that?"

"No..." he said silently. Yet, he perked right back up. "But I always wanted to be apart of the zombie apocalypse. That would be so awesome!"

"You're missing the point! We can't ever use this thing again if we end up changing something. Plus, don't you find it weird how an hourglass sent us back in time?"

He shrugged. "Not really. Don't you remember what that woman in the antique shop said? We can make our own future great and amazing instead of how it was portrayed now."

"No, I don't care! If we change time, who knows what can happen to our future? We might be happy with what's been changed, but it could turn out to be horrible for other people!" I tossed him the hourglass and stood up to walk out of the room. I don't care if he had the thing so long as I had the key to make it work. Not like he can do anything without it.

I never want to go through time like that again. Time travel is not fun when you suddenly find yourself about to be killed by guards and strange hooded men swoop in out of nowhere to rescue you. It sounds romantic, but honestly it's not. Kyle might have thought traveling through time was awesome, but I just want to forget this whole thing ever happened. I'm going to have nightmares for weeks to come.

Time is not meant to be examined except through books and memories. It's also not meant to be changed to fit other people's needs. I just hope if we do ever travel through time we don't change the future. There were too many time theories that made me worry how much we could change the future with one small action.

* * *

**So there you go! They have their first real bout of time travel and Lettie's not really happy about it. Next chapter has the plot coming into play involving traveling back to the Revolutionary war and Lettie's first meeting with Connor! I hope I did okay with Ezio. I'm now just replaying Assassin's Creed 2 since my bro got me the Ezio Trilogy for Christmas. I haven't played Assassin's Creed 2 for about two or three years while I've never even played through Brotherhood. I played the second and Revelations on my bro's XBox 360 and I didn't really have time to get really immersed without wanting to finish the game before he kicked me out of his room for long periods of time. So I hope Ezio seems in character.**

**Please review!  
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	3. The bloody beginning

**Across time**

****Chapter 3

During the following week, I tried my best to put the entire time traveling incident out of my mind. I managed to occupy myself with school, work, and friends to keep thoughts of Renaissance Italy out of my head. However, it refused to be forgotten when I kept waking up from nightmares of hooded men and guards in large armor trying to kill me. It was a traumatizing experience, so I guess it was to be expected.

The Monday after our time experience Kyle finally approached me about the hourglass.

I was sitting in my room reading a novel about a bunch of bird kids trying to save the world when my door opened. Briefly glancing up I saw Kyle standing by the doorway.

"Hey, Mom and Dad just left to go get groceries," he informed me.

I nodded absently, turning back to my novel. I expected him to leave and shut the door behind him. Instead, he wandered over to the bed to sit next to me.

"So..." He started. "I have a favor to ask you."

I stopped reading by this point. I placed my book down on the bed, watching him slowly. "...What kind of favor?" I asked.

"Can I borrow the key to the hourglass for awhile?"

"...You're seriously going to ask me after what I told you last week?"

"What if I told you I'm not going to change history and to observe it?"

"Hah! No," I answered. I hit him with the book. "I told you time shouldn't be traveled through! Haven't you watched enough Back to the Future to realize what even observing could do?"

Marty went to the future to help out his future son but he screwed up his present by messing up the past. If anything, Doc Brown was right in destroying the time traveling Delorean. Time shouldn't be messed with. The prospect of changing history was too much of a temptation for people to handle.

"But, I'm not going to do something like make a quick buck! This is for my grade!" I stared at him blankly and he sighed. "Look, I got assigned a term paper two days ago for my final exam. I have to write about the American Revolution and make my own conclusion of whether the war was worth the benefits of freedom or not."

"What's that got to do with the hourglass? You can go to the library and look up facts."

"Yeah, but you know how history is. Things get biased. I can't make my own conclusion about the war if it's biased."

"So, you want to use the hourglass to get back to the Revolutionary war to write a stupid term paper?" I concluded. I wasn't an idiot. I knew how my history nerd of a brother was when it came to the hourglass. Most historians would kill for this thing to see how history really went instead of gathering facts from sources made during the era.

"Pretty please? I only need to see the major events and that's it! I swear!" he began to plead. He grasped his hands together as he gave me a bright eyed stare.

"My answer's still the same no matter what you say. Going through time is dangerous. What would happen if you got hurt in one of the events or get killed? Some of those battles get bloody."

"I'll stay far away from the actual battlefields. I'll be with the civilians and hear facts from people."

"You know how violent the British got during the war! Being hidden with civilians won't be enough."

"It won't be that bad." I gave him an 'Are you kidding?' look. Even I knew how bad the war got during that time. He threw up his hands in frustration. "Fine! Then, come with me. With you there I'll be able to stay away from danger and not do anything stupid."

"More so than usual?" I retorted. Although Kyle did have a point. My older brother by ten months could be a bit ditzy at times. Usually he gets into situations randomly because he doesn't pay attention and I'm usually the one who has to get him out. I still remember the time back in high school how he ended up getting on the wrong bus to get home and ended up on the other side of where we lived. Dad had to go pick him up. If I'm there, he won't be able to get in trouble.

Still, this wasn't the usual random situation. We were talking about traveling through time here. The Revolutionary war wasn't some day trip people can go through. It was a bloody state of affairs where people died in the name of freedom and liberty. They all fought for their homeland to claim it as their own and not as a colony. I wasn't worried about Kyle changing history-I was worried he'd get killed. What would happen if he did get hurt? I knew how he worked and he wasn't going to stop bugging me about going to that time period. He would even steal the key I kept away from him to go. If I went with him, I could at least stop him from doing something impulsive.

I sighed. Crap. I was going to regret this.

"Fine," I said in defeat. I interrupted his cheer and glared at his bright smile. "But! We're preparing for this before we go. I don't want to get killed or do something that could change history because we didn't know what we were doing, alright? We're only going to the major events-nothing more, nothing less. You're not going to change any of the events and let them happen no matter how tragic they turn out, got it?"

"Of course! Whoo-hoo! We're going to the Revolutionary war!" Kyle cheered enthusiastically. He jumped to his feet. "I gotta start gathering my notes! Get all the dates, battles statistics, historical figures..."

He rattled on as he walked out of the room in a hurry. No doubt to prepare for the trip through time. I reluctantly got up to prepare as well. An empty pit in my stomach formed uneasily. I had a bad feeling about this trip. It was as bad as when that man in Italy rescued me and carried me around the city to avoid the guards.

Please don't let anything bad happen to us during this, I prayed silently. Hopefully, things would be fine during this trip through time.

But since this was me we were talking about, things wouldn't go as smooth as I thought.

* * *

An hour later found me and Kyle standing in my room once again. He had finished gathering a bunch of his notes and managed to down size them into neat little note cards. He was dressed in a grey hoodie and grey jeans so he wasn't wearing anything bright. I matched him with the same clothes yet I wore black hiking boots to my skinny jeans. I also had a waterproof satchel across my back that was normally used when we go camping.

"So are we ready?" I asked, checking the time on my wristwatch. It was the afternoon and our parents were still out. Grocery shopping with them normally means they'll go grocery shopping after going clothes shopping with Mom. It would be awhile until they get back.

"Yep! We're ready to go!" Kyle excitedly answered.

"So you know where we're going first?"

"Yeah. The Boston Massacre is the first event that starts the war."

"The date and time?"

"March 5, 1770. There's no specified time other than it was around evening."

"Where exactly does it take place?"

"I think it was at the Customs House on Kings street."

"Okay. Let's go." I reached under my hoodie to pull out a gold painted chain. Kyle blanched out seeing it.

"What did you do?"

"Oh, you like what I made?" I grinned, holding up the necklace chain around my neck so he could see the charm. The key to the hourglass hung from the chain from below a jeweled gold crown. Beside it were two more crystals hanging on both sides of it. The crown itself had a small clasp for easy removal from the chain. I got bored and decided to turn the antique key into something tasteful. I've always wanted a key necklace so violà!

"Do I like it? You _girlified_ it! I can't be seen carrying that thing around!" Kyle exclaimed, horrified.

"Good. You're not supposed to carry around the key." I held out a hand for the hourglass, which I knew he had close at hand.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I don't want you anywhere near my key if you have your hourglass with you. Who knows if you'll leave me behind or something?"

"I'm not that cruel," he grumbled, reaching into towards his jeans where he unclipped something. I raised my own eyebrow at the small chain superglued to the corner of the wooden lid and he flushed. "Oh, what? Like you're the only one allowed to mess around with time traveling objects?"

I held up my hands in defense. Whatever he does with his stuff doesn't matter to me. Shaking my head, I inserted the key into the hourglass while Kyle's hand gripped my forearm. I thought of the date and location as I turned the key.

The bright flash came with the warm tingling. I squeezed my eyes before I was blinded again until the light had faded. As it did I opened them back to observe our new surroundings. My first initial thought was the smell. It stank of manure and rotten fish. I covered my nose with the sleeve of my hoodie to filter the smell. Then, I pulled my hoodie closer because of the cold breeze brushing my locks into my face. Snow piled around us in the small back alley on the ground, houses, and broken fences.

"Jesus, its cold!" Kyle exclaimed, his breath fogging into the air. He wrapped his arms around himself tightly.

"W-Well, what do you expect? It's winter here still in Boston," I chattered through shaking teeth. I sneezed. Rubbing my nose, I made my way towards the opening in the alley where voices filtered from afar. I walked out onto a cobblestone street where various stalls were set up in the center to sell their goods. For a moment I took in the architecture around me. There were wooden houses and buildings made of brick that could still be seen in Boston of my time. However, by my time it was all old and ancient compared to the plaster and steel buildings surrounding them. My attention drifted to the people themselves. Just as I expected the men were dressed in clothes that would accent them from their dark tunics and coats to their white knee high socks covering their trousers. The women, of course, were dressed more elegantly with their dresses and bonnets to modestly cover their hair. That made me self-conscious and I pulled my hood over my head to hide my dark hair in a braid. The hood covered most of my head, barely hiding my eyes. Of course, there was the obvious different between the rich and the poor depending on the quality of their clothes as I could see. Some people had more fancy clothes compared to those wearing cotton or wool. Goddamn rich people.

After my initial review of the people and surroundings, I finally took note of the people shouting around us. They were all headed towards one direction down the street. Some were standing around yelling taunts and curses at men dressed in red coats. Obviously the English. In school we were always told that the English soldiers were nicknamed Red coats because of the army uniform, but God, it really was red! That bright shade should be illegal! They'd stick out like a sore thumb on a battlefield. Maybe that was the plan? On the battlefield they could differentiate their allies from their enemies by the shade of their uniforms. I don't know whether to call the person who designed the uniforms an idiot or a genius. The Red coat soldiers were trying to calm down the people, but their method of poking the civilians with pointy muskets was not the way to calm them down.

"Kyle, do you really want to go through with this?" I asked, uncertainly. Seeing the very sharp, very pointy muskets being handled by those kind of soldiers (who might not even know how to properly handle one) made me reconsider the whole thing. It was one thing to read about the weapons used in this time period, but it was another to see it staring down the barrel or blade. Whatever they're called!

"I know what you're thinking. It's going to be dangerous," Kyle said beside me. He eyed the muskets warily. "Right now, I'm thinking the same thing, but we're already here. I'm not backing down from this. A good grade is on the line here!"

"So are our lives!"

"True. Just live a little, sis! We're in 1770 Boston!" He threw out his arms to the chaos around us. "Aren't you a bit excited to possibly be one of the first time travelers on record?"

"Not really. I'm fearing for my life at the moment," I retorted, dryly.

He groaned, slapping his forehead with the palm of his hand.

"How are we related?"

"Dunno. Ask Mom and Dad that, not me." Shrugging, I ignored the massive voice inside of me screaming to get back to my time to follow the people down the street. A few moments later I heard Kyle running up to catch up with me to my side. Kyle was right. Since we're already here and past the point of no return, we might as well as get his silly report over with.

We walked in relative silence. It wasn't completely silent due to the people around us shouting at the Red coats. I mentally filed away the name 'Lobster' when a woman insulted a soldier with that name. Huh, never heard that term used before. We followed the crowd of people down the street and around a corner. Around the corner, we were rewarded with a large crowd gathered in the street in front of a bigger brick building with a bell space at the top of it. The crowd was standing before a line of soldiers as another man was on the building's steps in an attempt to calm down the crowd through negotiations. But as I know most Americans (even those who weren't Americans yet) we don't listen to foreigners. Most of the time.

"So, what's the plan?" I asked, stopping short of the crowd.

He furrowed his eyebrows.

"Plan?"

"Yeah, so we don't get killed when they start shooting?"

"Oh, plan!" He nodded enthusiastically, then he frowned. "I don't have a plan."

"You don't have a plan?" I deadpanned. I folded my arms like Mom does when we get in trouble. "You expect us to observe the Boston Massacre happen, and you don't have a plan so we don't get killed in the middle of it?"

"Nope."

"...You're an idiot, you know that?"

He sighed, shoulders slumping. "I know. I'm guessing you have a plan?"

"Sort of. I think it would be better to look at the event at a higher vantage point. That way we can see what happens without getting shot at." I gestured to the rooftops. No doubt there were ladders or something leading to the roofs.

Kyle stared at me skeptically. "You're willing to climb to a high place? Of your own free will?"

"...Yes," I said hesitantly.

"Okay, who are you and what have you done to my sister?"

"Shut up." I punched him in the arm. It was no secret I had a very large dislike of heights. Well, it wasn't really heights. I was okay with climbing up to high places. It was getting down that always scared me. I first learned of my dislike of getting down when I was still a kid. We were doing an obstacle course in a summer camp where we had to climb up a tree and jump onto a handle bar not too far away from a platform. Of course, we were harnessed for safety. When it came to my turn I got up just fine and grabbed the handlebar. It was when they shouted from the ground that I had to let go I started crying whereas a bunch of kids cried before jumping. It was difficult to get me down. "Do you want to live through this massacre, or what?"

"I'll live, thanks. I'll try a different way. I'll hide in an alley over there and watch what happens," he said, pointing to an alley near the line of soldiers. It was nearly out of sight so no one could see it unless the soldiers turned around. Since they would be busy firing away at the crowd in front of them, they wouldn't notice.

Reluctantly, I nodded. At least he would be out of harm's way.

I decided to head into a random alley to see if there were any ladders that would take me to the rooftops. It took me some searching and a couple odd looks from strangers until I found a ladder tucked away in the back corner of a building. Taking a deep breath, I climbed up the ladder. It took me no time at all to climb to the roof. Gingerly stepping onto the slippery tiles, I peered over the crest of the roof and past the chimney to see the crowd below and the line of soldiers in front of the custom's house. Perfect! A good aerial view of the crowd and none of the worry about getting shot. Sitting down didn't seem to hinder my view either. Good. I sat behind a chimney of the building I was on so I could be near it for warmth and still have a good view of what was about to happen. I hope they can't see me from the ground. Otherwise, I'm in trouble.

I hugged myself as a cold winter's breeze brushed against my cheek. Around me the cries of men and women seeking to voice their views of the British filled the air. That was all well and good if not for what was about to occur. I glanced down below to the crowd gathered in front of the customs house. I had a clear view of both the crowd and the building from this spot on the rooftops. I couldn't see the alley that Kyle was taking refuge in, but I honestly hoped he would be safe from the blood bath that was about to occur. We may fight a lot, but he was still my brother.

I watched the leader of the soldiers try to calm the crowd down. Instead of calming them his words added fuel to the fire. I could imagine what most of the citizens were thinking. How dare these Lobsters try to tell us what to do? This is our home, not theirs! They should get out and leave them be. I snorted, cupping my hands to my neck to keep them warm. Weren't they being hypocrites? Most of the people here were immigrants who came to the colonies in order to start a new life. It was thanks to the English they were able to get that start. As a matter of fact if it weren't for the English America would still be a land of Natives. Not that that's a bad thing. The Natives were fine where they were, but it was the immigrants who took their land from them. That wasn't fair considering America was their's first. But if they never came, my home wouldn't exist. Yet, at what cost? At the cost of pushing natives off their lands to small reserves throughout the country when it was their right to keep their land? To continue owning slaves despite the fact they deserved freedom, too?

"I'll never understand history," I muttered to myself. History was strange and always bound to repeat itself. No matter how much they studied it the same mistakes that started major events would occur time and time again. It amazed me how many times they as a race could make the same mistakes.

While I was musing how history works, I stopped when I heard noise near me. Freezing, I peered around the chimney I was hidden behind to see a man. I didn't really take in the man's appearance due to the fact he had a musket in his hand. He aimed it towards the soldier trying to calm down the crowd. No...He wasn't..! Panic seized me. I may not have been much of a history buff like Kyle, but even I knew how the Boston Massacre started. From what I remember learning in middle school, I knew from the reports the shots made in the massacre were accidental. Nowhere did it say a man intentionally started it!

I stayed silent as the man prepared to fire. As tragic as the massacre was I had to let it happen. This was history in the making. I already made Kyle promise not to change the events of the war, so I would keep my own swear. Still, I couldn't help but hold my breath in anticipation as he curled his finger around the trigger.

The man didn't have time to do more when suddenly, out of nowhere, a shadow descended on him. I gasped when a blur passed me to tackle the man from behind. The moment they connected I heard the telltale sound of flesh being penetrated. My eyes widened as the person who tackled the man stood and turned towards me upon hearing my gasp. Amber eyes met her own forest green.

It was a boy! My jaw dropped in shock. A boy a few years younger than me stood near the unmoving man. He had dark skin that was fair like an Italian's, yet from the rough tan clothes he wore as well as the bow slung across his back he was no Italian. He reminded me more of a Native American from the feathers and the patterns on his clothes. The boy and I kept eye contact for a brief moment, both too surprised to see the other. Suddenly, the boy tense and shifted his eyes to the side. I did the same to look across the street onto the building opposite theirs.

Up on the rooftop opposite our's stood another man. He dressed as if he were from the upper, more esteemed class. Yet, the way he wore his clothes and his scruffy facial hair were so unkempt he looked like he just got out of bed and dressed as such. The man leered at the boy and, holding a pistol in the air, he pulled the trigger.

Almost immediately, people cried out in astonishment at the sound. Many panicked, including the soldiers. They grabbed their own muskets, pointed them at the crowd, and began shooting. I watched, horrified, as people dropped dead to the cold unforgiving ground, their blood painting the white snow, while those who survived ran away in fear. Screams filled the air. My heart began to pound at the sight of one of the beginning events towards the American Revolution. And it made me sick watching it and knowing what was going to happen.

The sick feeling was made worse when there were guards on the rooftops began running towards their roof. I stood, swiveling my eyes for an escape route. Shit! I didn't anticipate this happening. I wasn't supposed to be up here nor to get involved. I was about to run for it when suddenly a hand grasped mine.

"Come! This way!" the boy shouted as he began to drag me across the rooftop.

I had no time to reply. Not when I heard a gunfire dangerously close by. My heart jumped in my throat. A crossbow was one thing, but a gun? Flashes of what happened in Italy passed my memories. I followed the boy to the edge of the roof where he let go of my hand for a brief second to jump to the next one. I followed after him, nimbly jumping the gap. Instead of running off, like I expected him to, the boy grasped my hand once more to go to the other side of the roof towards the edge. This time, however, instead of jumping across the roof himself, he pushed me off it.

I shrieked as I sailed through the air. For a moment all I could think was, 'Oh, my God! I'm gonna die!' as I remembered how I fell off the ladder in a similar manner. Oh, God! Not again! I expected to meet the hard ground below. Instead, I landed on something soft and course. Her vision was blinded and I calmed down long enough to see it was hay. Well, that explained why it felt so itchy. This is seriously a coincidence to land in hay after falling off a high place a second time. My hands reached to find a way out, but a hand wrapped around my mouth. I opened my mouth to scream.

"Shh! They will find us," came the boy's voice whispering in her ear. Hearing his voice, I calmed down.

We stayed still in the bale of hay. I didn't know how he would know if the guards weren't there. The boy had remained silent as our harsh breathing was all we could hear. Huh, strange. This was really reminding me of what happened in Italy. I closed my eyes to take a deep calming breath. It's funny. I thought I would escape the same scenario as what happened before by foolishly traveling through time again. Why was this happening to me a second time? I didn't do anything. If I weren't with the Native boy, would I have been chased by guards anyway?

No, a voice said in my head that sounded suspiciously like Kyle's. I'd be dead. If the boy hadn't grabbed my hand, I would have stayed there standing on the roof to let guards come and arrest me for starting something I hadn't done. The law during this time didn't matter because the Red coats did as they pleased when they pleased it. Quartering of soldiers was certainly one of them and not something everyone wanted to do. Weird. I guess that Amendment in the Constitution of the US actually applies to this time. Makes sense since this was when it was made.

I wasn't sure how long we stayed in the hay for while waiting for the guards to leave our area. The entire time the boy had his hand over my mouth like I was actually going to scream. My nose wrinkled at the dirt smell lingering on his hand. Ugh, gross. Time traveling was not as hygienic as I thought. Why couldn't we have traveled to a time where hygiene and personal grooming were essential? The hygiene during this time was disgusting. Still, I was aware of the boy's large frame behind me, his chest pressing against my back. My cheeks flushed. Shit, what is it with me being in close spaces with guys I've just met? I wasn't used to being touched so familiarly or closely. That's why I couldn't help but flush being so close to a guy. Embarrassing, I know.

After what seemed like hours, the boy let go of my face to crawl out the bale of hay. I followed after him into the fishy, open air. I stood to my feet to pat down my clothes while the boy quickly turned his head everywhere to search the area and see if the coast was clear. I brushed off my clothes to remove some of the hay sticking to me.

"I never want to do that ever again," I said. That was the first and last time I wanted to jump off a roof into a conveniently placed pile of hay. How was there a bale of hay everywhere I went no matter what time period? That is so weird.

"The guards are gone," the boy confirmed. He faced me with an apologetic expression. "I am sorry I did not warn you before pushing you."

"It's fine. It was either that or stay on the roof and get caught by guards. It's a good thing you were there to lead me. Otherwise, I'd probably be in jail."

The boy nodded. "We should leave before the guards find us. No doubt they will continue searching for us."

"After what happened, I don't doubt it. But..." I frowned. I wasn't sure where Kyle could be. After the event, we said we would meet up somewhere close by. The problem was where? Before, I'd thought I'd sneak away from the event to find Kyle, but with guards on the lookout it wouldn't be so easy to do that. They've seen me with the boy.

"Is there a problem?" he asked, probably sensing my worry by the way I trailed off.

"I told my brother I'd meet up with him somewhere but I don't really know where," I admitted. "I want to go look for him, but after what happened...I don't know my way around the city, either."

"You are a visitor as well?"

"You, too?"

"Yes. I must meet someone as well. Perhaps if we stay together we shall find your brother and Achilles?"

"That sounds like a good plan," I said. I didn't want to go looking around the city on my own. After the whole Rome incident, I didn't want to be on my own again. Last time Ezio was there to help me. Who knows what could happen to me with guards on the lookout? With the boy I at least stood a chance of escaping and hiding in a similar way as Ezio did during that chase through Italy. I smiled at the boy. "My name is Arlette Vinova, but call me Lettie. What's yours?"

"Ra...Connor," the boy corrected himself. I had a feeling he was about to say his Native American name. He must have changed it to fit in, but with his clothes it was a moot point. I didn't call him on it and smiled instead. At this point in time people weren't very accepting of the Natives. The one good thing that came out of the formation of America was the diversity of the land from Native Americans to Arabs. We were like a melting pot of diversity compared to other countries.

"Well, Connor, a pleasure to meet you. Though, it wasn't the best way to meet," I laughed. "So, shall we go looking now?"

He nodded.

We set out through the city in search of our respective people. During the time, they hid in convenient piles of hay, leaves, and hid in large crowds to avoid being noticed by any of the British guards. I followed Connor's lead while doing all of this. He seemed to know what he was doing by being sneaking and avoiding guards. He was kind of like a ninja doing all of this. Of course, he was considerate of me by telling me when to stop and pointing out where to hide. I learned that day how many places a person could hide from people they want to avoid as well as how many soldiers could occupy a city so easily.

We eventually made it to the shipping ports in the middle of the city without a hitch. Once we got there with the stalls of people selling smelly fish and crowds of people gossiping about what happened two hours ago, Connor started looking around. I looked around as well. Where could Kyle have gone? The next time we plan to split up we really should come up with a meeting place. This was getting ridiculous.

"Do you see your brother anywhere?" Connor asked.

"No. I don't know where he could have gone," I replied, wearily.

"And I cannot see Achilles." He rubbed his forehead. "I suppose we keep searching."

I nodded, disappointed. I didn't want to still be here after the bloody massacre happened. In time these events were going to grow more and more bloody as time passed. Blood didn't make me squeamish, but the thought of it running through the soil and dirt sickened me. I just wanted to get each event over with before I could dwell on those images.

We were about to leave the little market when a man approached us. He was of the same height as Connor for a man in his late forties/early fifties, with a lean build and dark hair brushing at the nape of his neck. From what I can see, he had a good income of money because his clothes were of fine quality.

"You're Achilles' boy, Connor, was it?" he asked. Connor nodded. "I saw what happened at the townhouse. A fine mess, that."

The man's gaze turned to me, and I had to resist the impulse to hide behind Connor. He seemed friendly enough, but I couldn't trust strangers. "Who is this young lady you've picked up? I don't remember Achilles mentioning you had a friend with you."

"Her name is Arlette. The guards saw her with me when they came. Who are you?" Connor asked, slightly accusing, slightly suspicious.

"Samuel Adams, at your service," he answered, offering a hand out to Connor to shake it. My eyebrows rose up. No way. This was Samuel Adams? One of the founding fathers of the United States of America? I had no idea Connor knew someone who knew him! When Connor didn't shake his hand Adams let it fall to his side, perturbed. I know Connor must have still been new at this, but it did seem kind of rude. He cleared his throat to cover up his embarrassment. "Achilles asked me to get you out of Boston."

"Explain."

"The whole city's looking for you." He nodded to another man nearby, who held up a piece of parchment that looked printed on. On the parchment was a rough sketch of Connor. It still looked fairly accurate. It also made him look kind of like a girl. They drew his hair way longer than it's supposed to!

"Oye! Oye! A criminal and his accomplice stalk the streets-wanted in connection with the massacre at the Town House!" he cried. "Citizens are advised to call the guards if they see them! Ten pounds to whoever brings these mad men to justice!"

"Why do they have a poster of Connor, but not me?" I asked. I was obviously the accomplice they were talking about since the guards saw me with him when it happened.

"They've see Connor's face as plain as day when it happened. You don't have any descriptions to go by," Samuel explained, eying my strange but non-descriptive attire. To any other person I looked like I was wearing tights, boots, and a very short tunic. I knew it was a good idea to dress like this!

"What are we supposed to do?" Connor asked, worried.

Samuel walked over to a nearby tree where a small group of people were gathered. None too gently, he shoved a man out of the way to get to the tree. Rude, much? We came up to the tree curiously. He ripped the poster of Connor nailed to the tree and rolled it up. "You can take down these posters for a start. Return to me when you remove the others."

"I'll help," I told Connor.

"You do not have to trouble yourself with this. They are looking for me, not you," Connor said.

"I want to help. Besides, you got me out of getting thrown in jail."

"But, what about your search for your brother?"

"Brother?" Samuel interjected, curiously.

"We got separated after what happened at the Town House. We just arrived in the city, you see," I said, as if it explained everything that was needed to be explained.

"Ah, I see. Well, I suppose I can help you with your search as soon as I get Connor out of the city."

I nodded. It would be a load off my shoulders to find Kyle in another city I have no knowledge about. Plus, I get to hang over his head how I met one of the founding fathers before he did. He'll be so jealous!

"We can't be seen together until these posters are gone," Samuel said to Connor. He pointed at the docks. "Meet me here as soon are you're done."

He nodded and started to make his way around town. I took a moment to look around me to see if there were any posters around. What I saw were a lot of guards loitering about. Don't they have anything better to do than stand around in groups and gossip like a bunch of girls? From what I've noticed throughout any time period, the average guard who weren't as trained as professional ones were not useful at all. Both a curse and a blessing, I suppose.

By one group near a white painted building, I saw a poster of Connor along with a group of two guards standing near it. Walking over there was no trouble. Not even when I was right next to the guards they didn't notice me. Well, they did eye me suspiciously for a second before dismissing me. I guess this is one of the times in my life I'm happy I wasn't noticed. Shrugging, I reached the poster and carefully ripped it off from its nails. I quickly walked away before anyone saw what I did. I looked down at the poster in my hands, tilting my head at the charcoal used to get the shades of Connor's hair just right. Hm, for such ancient technology the drawing's during this time weren't half bad. They weren't anything like the paintings that came out of this era, being all fancy-like, but still. They were really good.

I carefully folded up the poster and placed it in my bag. Before we went through with this trip through time, I decided I might as well as bring home souvenirs from each of the events. Not really important ones that might change the course of the future, but really mundane items that catch my interest. This poster of Connor would not be missed. When I look back on this moment and look at this poster I'll be able to remember I was accused of being an accomplice in starting the famous Boston Massacre. Not a bad way to remember events people have only read about. With my prize safely in my bag I quickly got to work.

Using the same skills Connor used to remain undetected by guards earlier, I managed to round up a good amount of posters in the general area. I was kind of an amateur doing all of this compared to Connor, who was a master. I still did alright by the time I returned to where Samuel Adams was waiting by the docks. He had migrated over to where an animal pen near it and was leaning against the fence next to another older gentleman. With a more than heavy heart (because the one thing I hate doing is wasting paper) I chucked the paper posters into the cold mud of the pen. My inner tree hugger is crying sorrowfully from the act I've committed. I'm sorry, trees!

"Where's Connor?" I asked Samuel, hesitantly. I'm still no good with strangers far older than me. So, I wasn't surprised I couldn't keep my head from lowering to not meet Samuel's eyes.

"Over there," he said, nodding to someone in the throngs of people. I glanced in his direction only to widen my eyes. Connor had a few blood splatters on his tan clothes. It wasn't as noticeable from far away, but as he got closer to us I could see the blood splatters on his moccasin boots. He even had some blood on his face when he stopped next to me.

"Oh, no! Connor, what happened?" I exclaimed, concerned. I reached into my bag to pull out a handkerchief I thought to pack. Then, I handed it to him.

"I had some difficulties tearing down the posters," he explained. He accepted the handkerchief and wiped off the blood from his face.

"I have no doubt you did. I was wondering why there were people running and screaming for guards to catch a Native murderer," Samuel said, amused.

Connor frowned. Once he finished cleaning his face, he tried to hand it back to me. However, I declined.

"Keep it. You need it more than I do." The white handkerchief was already red with blood. I might miss having it, but it was for a good cause.

"Anyway, Connor, Arlette, I want you to meet someone. Meet Cyrus." Samuel nodded to the man next to him. The man was eying Connor suspiciously and cautiously. He only did a side-glance at me. Connor WAS intimidating.

"A-Are they the killers?" Cyrus asked, fear stuttering his words.

Connor narrowed his eyes at the man threateningly, and I didn't blame him. I would hate it, too, if someone called me a killer without hearing his side of the story. Okay, yeah, he did kill a guy and I was the only witness to it. He had to do it to stop the guy from starting the Boston Massacre, though! It was all in vain, but Connor wasn't that kind of cold hearted killer. Or, at least, I hope not. I had to hold back Connor by the arm from getting near Cyrus to start something. Connor tensed under my touch and hesitantly relaxed. That's better.

"Peace. Cyrus is on our side. Or rather, for the right price, he will be," Samuel assured him.

"Have you seen this man?" asked a nearby guard. He was asking a group of women while holding up a poster of Connor.

Connor shifted from his position on my right to my left with his head lowered to hide his face and in order to use me to hide him from the guard. I didn't say anything since I know how it feels to want to hide behind someone. Samuel touched his shoulder.

"Watch and learn." He picked up Cyrus' hand and slipped a couple of coins into his hand. I raised a curious expression at this action.

Cyrus grinned and raised people's attention by shouting out, "Oye! Oye! Word has reached us that the men responsible for today's shooting may have been in disguise! A wig and make-up tin were found near the scene of the crime. Witnesses describe two middle-aged gentlemen with pale complexions fleeing towards the wharves, rifles in arm."

The people around us murmured at the new information, all wondering if those men were going to be caught.

My jaw had dropped half-way through the speech. Oh, wow...I can't believe Samuel bribed the guy to say that! Man, that is seriously messed up! And so the glorified image of Samuel Adams has been completely decimated by these acts. Amazing.

"Thank you, Cyrus," he thanked.

Cyrus nodded. "Pleasure."

"Come on, then. There's still one more bit of work to do." Samuel began to walk away. Connor nodded his thanks at Cyrus while I smiled before following Samuel.

"Where are we going?" I asked, trailing behind Samuel with my hands in my pockets. The cold air and snow had become much more unbearable as the sun had set into night. I wasn't made for this kind of weather. I prefer sunny days with breezy winds to this cold, harsh snow. Damn, I should've brought gloves.

"To the printer's. Where do you think all those posters came from?" he answered. "They're made by a machine. We need to shut it down."

We wandered over to where some of the residential areas were to go into back alleys and fences. Samuel was about to turn down a street, but stopped short upon seeing a line of guards blocking the path. All were standing at attention, stopping any person that crossed their path demanding to know who they were and where they were going. He cursed.

"Damn! We're too late! They've already set up a checkpoint." He let out a breath of frustration and began to make his way towards an alley. "Come on, this way."

"I can go by rooftop and meet you there?" Connor suggested.

"No. Better you learn about the tunnels now."

"Tunnels?" I asked. What did he mean by that? There weren't any tunnels in Boston as far as I knew.

"The Masons have a whole network of tunnels underneath the city. They're quite useful when speed and secrecy are required."

The title of Masons flew over my head. I don't really know about them, though the term is familiar. I'll have to ask Kyle about this later.

Kyle...A niggling voice of worry squirmed in my mind. I hope he's alright. I might be walking all over the city to ensure Connor isn't recognized anymore by the public, but was this the right thing to do? I wasn't supposed to be here, much less get involved with this kind of stuff. The very thing I warned Kyle not to do was happening to me. I hope what I do won't change the outcome of history too much. Since all we were doing was taking down posters and avoiding guards, it shouldn't be too bad. I sighed. I really hoped I could find Kyle soon. If this is what the beginning events leading up to the Revolution is like, I can't help but wonder what the actual battles we'll see will be like?

From this point on, I have no doubt everything I see and hear will be different from what I learned in a textbook. Much different.

* * *

**So, third chapter! Whoo-hoo! Lettie meets Connor, but not in the best circumstances. Yet again, she's been separated from Kyle and has to find him while being accused of being an accomplice to starting the Boston Massacre. I hope I did alright with this one. I had to replay this scene to get a better feel for it and Samuel Adams, thinking of how Lettie would react as I went along. The part with Connor covered in blood is how I think Connor had trouble getting to the posters. I know I did in the game. I had to fight a whole bunch of guards to even get to one poster! Next chapter is the end of the Boston Massacre Event and maybe the beginning of the Boston Tea Party. I'm not entirely sure yet.**

**Thank you to the two people who have reviewed! I really do love reviews to get some criticism of how I'm going with the story along with ideas they want to see come into play. I love new ideas! **

**So, please review!  
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	4. Tea for two

Chapter 4

The dank darkness of the tunnels was truly frightening. When we first entered the underground tunnels via a cellar door in someone's backyard darkness enclosed us. I was weary of going inside. I've seen enough horror movies and stories to know if we go down there, we may never come out again. Then again, I might be paranoid about the whole thing, so I pushed those fears away.

At first darkness was all that invaded my senses. I waved a hand in front of my face. It was so dark I couldn't even see my hand! As a result my other senses were enhanced and allowed me to hear a small striking sound against something rough. Then, light returned to us. With the new light I could see Samuel Adams had lit a lantern in his hand with a match. He handed the large lantern over to me. I wondered why he was handing me a lantern until a hand grabbed it from next to me. I gasped, realizing Connor was next to me. I didn't even realize he was there!

"Jeez! Don't scare me like that!"

"It wasn't my intention to scare you," Connor said, smiling at my obvious surprise. Like a child, I puffed out my cheeks, annoyed. Jerk. He was laughing at me in his head, I know it. He waved the lantern around the room, shining light around us. We were in a very small room filled with sacks of unimportant or forgotten supplies from when the room was built. The only thing that kept the room from caving in were wooden pillars built to keep it the way it was. In front of us was a doorway that led deeper into the darkness.

We set off towards the stairs and began our descent down and through the tunnels. Or rather, I reluctantly set off while the two men were in front of me leading the way. Since Connor was the one who held the lantern, he was in the front leading the way while Samuel and I followed. I trailed closely behind him, shivering in my clothes. The walls around us were close and the ceiling low. Through twists and turns we went with no way of knowing where these tunnels may lead. With us enshrouded in the dark I started feeling a bit sick. These tightly closed tunnels were making me feel claustrophobic. I could barely breathe. I wonder if the people brave enough to wander the Paris catacombs, which these tunnels reminded me of, felt like they were going to go crazy from wandering those tunnels? I'd never know. Normally, the people who wander the Paris catacombs were never found.

Okay, staying away from that line of thought! I don't want to think we're going to get lost and die here! I forced myself to calm down as Samuel advised Connor to light the lanterns on the walls as we went. It was to help us find our way in case we end up going in circles. It was a good idea. Then, we would know where we're going. I opened my mouth to ask why there tunnels were built in the first place when I felt something furry brush my leg.

I screamed, jumping away from whatever touched me. My scream echoed though the brick tunnels. It made Samuel and Connor jump. I ended up grabbing Connor's arm tightly. "Something touched me!"

Connor shone the lantern towards the direction I felt whatever it was to find something disgusting. Rats crawled in and out of cracks in the walls and grates, scurrying into the dark. I'm pretty sure the two of us were disgusted; especially me. Those things touched me!

"Ugh. Much as it pains me to say it, we must follow the rats. They often move in the direction of an exit," Samuel advised, although he was disgusted with the sight of them as much as us.

"That is gross," I stated. We continued walking through the tunnels, following the direction the rats were going. I didn't let go of Connor's arm. I was still too grossed out with the rats. "Are you sure they'll lead us the way out?"

"Most likely. All living things wish to find places that lead into somewhere light. If we follow them, we will found our exit."

I grimaced. It didn't mean I had to like following them. It was universal for most women to hate those furry little scavengers. I hated them the most because they weren't afraid to even eat human flesh. The episode from the TV show Grimm flashed in my mind. They weren't the most loved creature on Earth, that's for sure.

For the rest of the journey through the tunnels we remained silent. I knew why I was silent. I didn't like being in the tunnels with the water leaking down cracks and the dank cold that seemed ever present. It seeped through my clothes and crawled up my spine. I didn't let go of Connor simply for the fact he was warm. His body heat chased away most of the cold. For the men I had no idea why they were quiet. Maybe that's how they were? Who knows? So, most of the journey was spent in silence, our breathing and footfalls the only thing we could hear echo through the walls.

It felt like hours of walking around in the semi-dark when we finally found another room similar to the one we entered before. I looked at my watch to see we were only down here for one hour. Connor shone the lantern towards the door we found.

"Well, well! You were right. I apologize for ever doubting," Samuel praised, clapping Connor on the shoulder. I caught the slight twitch on Connor's face when he did. "No wonder Achilles has taken such an interest in you."

"That's all great and good, but may we leave now? I'm sick of being down here," I complained, releasing my grip on Connor's arm. I breathed as deeply as I could, resisting the urge to hurl. Being underground for so long made me dizzy what with all the turns and stairs we had to climb.

"Are you alright?" Connor asked. He looked concerned, but looked like he wasn't sure if he could do anything.

I waved him off. "Just too much time underground. I need fresh air and I'll be fine."

"Arse!" Samuel suddenly cursed. He was by the door and jiggled the doorknob. He looked over his shoulder to Connor with a mischievous smile. "I don't suppose lock picking is part of your repertoire?"

Lock picking? What the heck does that mean? To my surprise Connor handed the lantern to Samuel and stood in front of the door. Kneeling down, he took out two thin metal tools and inserted them into the keyhole. He started twisting the tools, emitting a series of clicks, when we finally heard a distinctive click. Standing up, he twisted the doorknob and it opened. I'm sure my eyebrows were well into my hairline. How did Connor know how to pick locks? Connor was certainly intriguing. The short time I've spent with him made me realize there was more to him than meets the eye. Not every Native American knew how to kill, hide, and pick locks. Who IS Conner?

"Well done!" Samuel praised again. He reached forward and opened the door wider to allow us to leave. He blew out the lantern again, leaving us in complete darkness. From the series of footsteps hitting wood, he was walking up the stairs.

As for me I tried to walk towards the general direction of where the sounds were coming from. However, when I walked forward I ended up smacking into a solid object that was tall, flat, and hard. Yelping, I stumbled back and rubbed my face. Damn wall! Always being there when I don't need it!

Someone chuckled on my right. Then, a hand slipped into the crook of my arm.

"Come on, Arlette. The door is over here," Connor said, chuckles lining his words. He led me towards what felt like a doorway. How could I tell? The air was a lot different and more stifle to an open and larger room. That, and the cellar door above was open to give us a tiny bit of light to see. Connor let go of my arm by this point.

"How was I supposed to know that wall was there? I'm not a bat and I'm certainly not blind," I grumbled.

"I didn't say you were."

"Then, let's never mention I ran into a wall. That wall came out of nowhere and hit me in the face."

Connor shook his head, giving me a very tiny smile. I returned it. He struck me as a too serious guy. I'm serious, too, or that's what Kyle tells me, but I wasn't at Connor's level. He regarded everything as serious. It made me happy to make a kid like him smile so easily.

Together, the two of climbed the stairs up to the cellar door. We climbed out safely and Samuel shut the cellar door closed behind us. I began to stretch my limbs, taking in the cold night air. Ah, sweet fresh air! I never knew how much I would miss it being stuck underground for more than an hour. Almost instantly, my headache and dizziness went away.

"Are you feeling better?" Samuel asked me.

"Much better, thanks. I couldn't breathe down there," I replied.

"I understand. First time I walked the tunnels I felt as if I would never get out." He shook his head at the memory. "Well, then. I think it best we part ways from here for now. No doubt the soldiers are still searching for the criminals." He pointed down an alleyway. We were in someone's backyard surrounded by houses. How did no one notice a cellar that leads to an underground maze? "The printer's not far from here. Let us reconvene there."

We nodded. Of course it wouldn't be good to be seen together. He was the one helping us, after all. Wouldn't want anything to happen to him for the sake of the creation of America.

Samuel walked off down another alleyway. We proceeded to walk towards the alleyway he pointed out. I pulled my hood further down my head as a cold breeze swept right through my clothes. Maybe wearing a simple hoodie and a single t-shirt wasn't the best choice for this kind of weather. It was still winter as far as I know what with the snow falling in small flakes around us. How did people in this era handle this cold all the time? I was used to it because I live in Seattle where it's as cold as this, but I was used to heaters being in every building. I would walk to place to place knowing I'd soon be warm indoors. I was freezing.

"Are you alright?" Connor asked beside me as we exited the alley. We came into a street where it was relatively bare of people except for the usual group looking for fun and the occasional troupe of soldiers.

"F-Fine. Just cold," I answered with chattering teeth. I wrapped my arms around me for some semblance of warmth. I laughed, embarrassed. "Sorry. I'm not used to being this cold. Where I live it's cold but not like this."

"Where is it you come from, Arlette? You said you and your brother are visiting the city."

"I come from a little place farther west from here," I lied. Obviously, I couldn't tell him I'm from a city in a state that hasn't been discovered yet. "What about you? You said you and this Achilles person were visiting."

"Yes. This is my first trip into Boston. I've never been to a city such as this." He gestured a hand to the buildings all clustered closely to one another. "When I first arrived here a few hours earlier I was amazed by all the wonders the city could offer. The sights, the smell, the people...I've never seen anything like it."

"That's because you're used to living in a village, right? With just your tribe as company."

Connor froze, his eyes growing wide. "How did you-"

"Your clothes don't exactly say you're a colonist. Don't worry," I reassured him. I smiled as friendly as I could and winked at him. "Your secret's safe with me. I don't mind Natives as much as the people in this city."

He stared at me for a moment before he hesitantly nodded. "Yes, I am not accustomed to seeing so many people in one place. I had always thought my village held many people, but seeing Boston has shown me how small it truly is in comparison."

"What tribe do you come from?"

He remained silent. For a second I was worried I might have been asking too many questions. I was just curious to which Native American tribe he could come from. The only tribes i knew about were the Navajo and the Cherokee. Did I offend him by asking these questions? I was about to apologize when he answered.

"Kanien'kehá:ka," Connor answered.

It was my turn to stare at him, but in amazement. How did his tongue even wrap around those syllables? It was entirely natural to him, but I'm sure if I said it it would sound stupid. When I didn't say anything he frowned at me. I grinned to show I didn't think less of him.

"Ka-Kani-What? That's certainly a mouthful. It'd be hard to say that five times fast," I giggled. "That's in your language, right? What's it mean?"

"In your language it would mean 'People of the Flint.' It refers to our origins within the valley that is our home. Although, the colonists may call us by a different name."

I nodded. I wouldn't be surprised if they did. I could hardly pronounce the name of his tribe without butchering it. I didn't even want to try without sounding stupid in front it him. I wanted to ask him a lot more questions about his tribe, but it would be rude. Well, that and I found that we had already arrived at a shop clearly stating it was the printer's. We must have been talking so much we barely noticed we were walking.

Connor walked over to the door and entered with me right behind him. He allowed me in before closing it behind us. I turned and took a look at where we were. The room we were in reminded me remarkably of one I would see in a museum. There were stacks of papers everywhere except for on a desk. Peeking at one nearby, it was a newspaper talking about the various taxes the British put on the colonists. On one side of the room was this great big machine that had pieces of paper attached to one side while on the other was a small space full of tiles. A printing press, if I can remember those images in my history books back in middle school. By the machine, Samuel and another man were conversing.

"You ask a great deal of me, Sam," said the man, gravely.

"I know," replied Samuel. "But I wouldn't be here if it wasn't important, if it wasn't..." He spared us a glance. "Vital."

The man turned his head to us. I hid behind Connor, probably looking pathetic. That's what I'm hoping for. Sympathy is the best weapon of persuasion. He sighed.

"Fine. Just this once, though. In the future, such things will come at a price." He turned towards the machine where the tiles were. His large hands began to pluck out the tiles and rearrange them. "Resetting the type is neither quick nor easy. To say of the cost should I be discovered."

Oh, that's right. I forgot how hard printing was during this time. It's not as easy as clicking a button on the computer and it prints it out. Samuel smiled, grateful. "I shall never forget this kindness."

"Nor I."

"His work will see your last little bit of notoriety erased." Samuel nodded to the door. "Come. I'll show you how to leave now that order's been restored. We may also have more ease of searching for your brother as well, Arlette."

"That's good." It was. No more sneaking around and hiding in the shadows like a bunch of criminals. We weren't criminals. We were at the wrong place at the wrong time. Well, I was. I was still debating on Connor. Despite the fact Connor was a good kid, he DID kill a man. I still wasn't sure what to think of that.

We exited the shop and started making our way down the street towards the harbor nearby. Samuel started to tell Connor in, a nutshell, to be careful not to attract the soldiers' attention. If he did, he was to use one of the three methods we just used. I wasn't entirely sure why Samuel was even teaching Connor how to do any of these things. I wasn't sure what people were taught in this era, but the things Samuel taught Connor (and inevitably me) were bribery. Those types of actions were illegal. If we were in my era, he would be arrested. I'm pretty sure this was illegal here, too.

I trailed behind the two as they spoke. It didn't seem to involve me in anyway. I started to examine the shops and people around me when I suddenly felt someone grab me from behind. Before I could scream, a hand covered my mouth. My muffled scream wasn't heard by neither Connor or Samuel as I was forcibly dragged into the nearest alley. No! Why did they have to have their backs turned to me? Connor, help!

I forced myself to drop that thought. I was relying on the help of a teenaged boy I just met. I can't always rely on him. Not with stuff like this when I'm on my own. Taking a deep breath, I took matters into my own hands. As soon as we were hidden away, I elbowed my kidnapper in the stomach as hard as I could. There was a familiar grunt of pain behind me as the hands let go of me.

"Ow, Lettie! You didn't have to hit me that hard!"

I whipped my head around. I nearly cried in relief when I saw Kyle standing under the lantern of someone's house, rubbing his stomach where I hit him. My relief quickly turned into anger and I punched him again on the shoulder.

He cried out in pain. "Ouch! Knock it off! Quit hitting me so hard!"

"I have every right to hit you! You don't just grab me and drag me away like that. I thought you were kidnapping me," I scolded.

"Sorry for worrying about you. I've only been searching the entire city looking for you," he retorted sarcastically. He huffed. "This is the thanks I get for looking for you? Fine, next time I won't try to be worried or bother looking for you."

I softened at that. I shouldn't be so mad. Despite everything, Kyle did worry about me. He looked for me back in Italy. I shouldn't be so ungrateful. "Look, I'm sorry. The past few hours have been rough."

"Yeah, I can tell. Getting accused of being an accomplice to the guy who started the massacre isn't the way I would spend my time here." He eased up, grinning at my misfortune.

I groaned. "Oh, great. What did you hear?"

"Other than the fact that first you were accused of being involved with a Native and, then a middle aged man in disguise? Not much. Well, there was that bloodbath I heard about. Something about a kid killing a bunch of guards. You know anything about that?"

"It wasn't me, I can tell you that." I shrugged. That was all Connor.

"Well, anyway, we should get out of here before guards start accusing you of other things." He unclipped the hourglass from his belt to hand it to me. "So much for not getting involved, huh?"

"I wasn't involved! That was a complete accident!"

"Sure it was," Kyle laughed. Heat spread across my cheeks. "So I'm guessing you weren't hiding from guards in the past few hours? You were just sipping tea at the nearest coffeehouse."

"Oh, shut up. You wouldn't catch me dead drinking tea," I muttered. Just for that comment, I'm not telling him I met Samuel Adams. I hate tea and he knows it. What was so appealing about flowery smelling water? I don't want to drink something flowery.

"Speaking of tea, that's where we're going next. Are you reading for a tea party the likes of which the world has never seen?" he asked in an announcer's voice. Complete with stony face and dramatic, deep voice. It cracked when he started grinning widely.

"Boston Tea Party?" I giggled.

"You know it! December 16, 1773, here we come!"

I rolled my eyes at his enthusiasm. Where he gets it, I'll never know. It makes him act like he's ten years old. I inserted the key into the hourglass. Before I turned the key, I thought about Connor. It might sound weird, but I was really going to miss him. Yes, he's some kid I've met randomly. Yet, its not every day one gets to bond with someone else while being accused of being a criminal. I might not get to see him again and I haven't told him goodbye. It's not likely I'd ever see him again. With us traveling through time it would be a miracle if I would even hear about him. I wish him the best of luck in his future. He would probably forget about me anyway. He would never remember the girl he saved during the Boston Massacre and neither would I in the future. Who knows if I'll remember him?

Shaking my head of such depressing thoughts, I focused on the date of the Boston Tea Party. Now wasn't the time to think about what was going to be the past. I could only look ahead for what's to come. I turned the key and we were soon gone from the year of 1770 and the massacre that had occurred.

When we arrived in Boston 1773 it felt as if nothing had changed. We appeared next to what looked like a warehouse by a harbor. Over the warehouses I could spot masts and sails in the looming dark. With it being December it was still quite cold. I shivered. The air was filled with various angry voices.

Kyle scanned the area, which was deserted. Otherwise, it would have been awkward to explain why two teenagers appeared out of nowhere. He smiled and headed towards the voices. "Come on! The party's starting!"

"How are you excited about this? It's not even a real party," I said, trailing after him.

"Depends on your definition of party. The definition of party for the Boston Tea Party is a number of persons united in opinion or action," her spouted in a scholarly manner.

Lettie resisted the urge to yell 'dork' at him. "I thought you were a historian? What's with the walking dictionary act?"

"Knowing the meaning of a word doesn't mean I'm a walking dictionary. It helps to know the different meanings for words like for contracts. Plus, you can insult people with fancy words."

"That's...interesting."

He learned different words for the sake of insulting people? That was an interesting way to learn new words. How did she not notice him doing this?

We turned a corner to find ourselves facing an angry crowd. We faced the main shipping harbor of Boston where several ships were docked. Men and women surrounded the docks, cheering on the brave individuals who formulated this plan of rebellion. We walked towards the crowd. Kyle slipped his hand onto my arm and I shot him a look. He shrugged.

"After what just happened, I don't think it's a good idea to let you out of my sight," he explained.

"That's rich. Usually, I'm the one who has to look out for you," I teased.

"Yeah. It's nice not being the unlucky one for once."

We stopped at the back of the crowd. Everyone being so much taller than us we could barely see the front of the crowd where a group of men were discussing something. I stayed silent, letting the harsh yells fill me. The air was charged with tension and anger just waiting to be released. The Boston Tea party was the spark that fanned into a flame that would engulf two desperate countries-one desperate for freedom, the other desperate to keep what was their's. It was the start of a rebellion that would affect many.

"I can't believe people are getting riled up over tea," I commented, casually. I had to nearly yell at Kyle next to me because of all the yelling around us. It was like being at a concert. "It's just tea. They don't have to drink it."

"Are you serious? Some of these people live for tea!" Kyle said, incredulously. "Of course, that's because they're British who immigrated here. I've never gotten why they drink tea. It''s like every British person is expected to drink tea regularly."

"I've never gotten that either. Maybe it's a culture thing?"

"Maybe. Anyway, these people are being denied their right to buy tea at low costs. Wouldn't you be pissed if someone raised taxes on hot chocolate?"

I scoffed. "I'd be more than pissed. I'd hunt down the person who put that tax and hold him hostage until he dropped it back."

"And now you know how these people feel."

I paused. Maybe I did understand what they were pissed about. If someone raised the tax on hot chocolate, I wouldn't be the one standing here in the crowd. I would be the one on the boat throwing the shipments into the ocean. What I never got about this particular event was why throw the tea? I thought they were pissed their tea was being taxed. Wouldn't it be smarter to steal the tea? What kind of rebellion is this to throw away the thing they loved because it was too expensive? That makes no sense. It was a waste of good products.

My line of thought was interrupted when there was quite a few more cheering. The men and women were cheering at something in the front. I stood on my toes to peer around the shoulders of the people in front of me. From what I could see men in red coats were walking towards the two boats closest to us in order to board it. I sighed. Well, looks like this was going to be boring. How was watching people dump tea fun? If it were me, I'd rather be the one up there dumping it along with them. Watching them was boring.

"Kyle, can we just skip this event? Its going to get boring," I said with a yawn. Even with soldiers coming, I didn't expect them to harm the crowd. They were the spectators. They would be after the ones dumping the tea. This was going to get old fast.

I expected Kyle to snap how this wasn't boring and it was better than any show that decided to recreate this event. However, I didn't hear anything beside me. Why wasn't I hearing him say anything? He'd be on me in a second if I insulted history. I shifted my head to the side to see the reason why.

Kyle wasn't there.

"Kyle?" Panic seized my breath. What the hell? He was here a second ago! He said he was going to be near me to keep an eye on me! I swerved around me to scan the area for any sign of him. He didn't bother to keep his hood up like me. All I could see were men and women roaring with approval as Redcoats streamed in from streets to approach the ships. I pushed my way through the crowd, keeping an eye out for him. How did he manage to slip away from me? Did he slip away? Or was I not paying attention to him? Where could he be? The people around me said nothing as I squirmed my way towards the front of the crowd. Sweat, mud, and other hot bodily scents pervaded my breathing space. I tried to ignore that in favor to wriggling past the last few people to get to the front.

I raised my eyebrows in astonishment at what I saw. It turns out being in the back was far different to what the front of the crowd saw. I could see the harbor and ships more clearly. The wooden dock was a wide area of space with boxes and crates either waiting to be shipped or taken to stores for sale. Planks connected the ships and the docks to allow people to board as they please. But, the wooden boards were stained with the crimson of blood and the red uniforms of bodies. Shots went off in the air from muskets the Redcoats aimed at the several men fending them off from completing their task. Because of the shots, smoke hovered in the air along with the battle cries and dying grunts. It was certainly bloody, that's for sure.

I flinched as a shot was made and the Redcoat near me fell to the ground, blood soon to follow out of the hole in his body. I really don't remember reading how much blood was spilled during this. I thought it was dressing up as an Indian and throwing tea into the harbor. Maybe the textbooks I was reading were kid friendly? It would certainly explain a lot. Shaking my head, I looked towards the ships. Vaguely in the dark, I could make out men throwing crates into the water while others moved to fend off the soldiers. They were really serious about this rebellion? I sweeped the ships with my eyes until I spotted someone moving towards the ships. I gasped at seeing a very familiar person move slowly around the fighting towards the plank to the ships.

"Kyle!" I screamed. What the hell was he doing?! He walked around the edge of the fighting with a determined expression on his face. The kind he has when he has his mind dead set on something. If he wasn't careful, he was going to be dead! I wanted to go run to him and drag him away from the fighting, but my body was frozen. I could do nothing but watch him manage to board the ship. I lost sight of him after that.

Fear gripped me like it grabbed me by the throat and halted my attempts to breath. I knew Kyle was insane at times, but this...What if a shot missed and hit him? What if the Redcoats thought he was one of the perpetrators? What the hell was he doing?! I wasn't even sure what the hell he was thinking!

For what felt like hours I waited with the crowd, half ignoring them, in favor of watching the tea dumping group fight off what seemed like waves of British soldiers. I was seeing more red than I had ever in my life. It was everywhere. Resisting the urge to hurl, I tried to find Kyle in the chaos. It was hard to see much with the darkness and mere torches the sole source of light. Finally, I saw the familiar grey of his modern clothes and the glint of his glasses as he appeared back on the deck of the ship he boarded. He appeared unharmed as far as I could tell. In his arms he held a small crate with the symbol of the Union Jack flag stamped on its side surface.

Kyle sneaked a look around to see if there were any soldiers out there. So far it was the break between the waves of soldiers. Then, he made sure the men on board weren't looking before he started trying to sneak off the ship. I couldn't imagine what would happen if they saw him stealing a crate and not throwing it. I held my breath as he snuck past people too preoccupied with the chaos and towards the nearest warehouse. I thought he would be home free when suddenly guards appeared from there. He backed away, the approaching guards yelling at him to drop the tea or something along those lines. It was hard to tell what they were saying with all this noise out and about. They jabbed their muskets in his direction, forcing him back onto the harbor. He didn't notice the guards behind him who held a musket to shoot him.

"KYLE, LOOK OUT!" I screamed. At my scream several people turned their heads at me, but I didn't see them. All I could see was Kyle freeze up.

I was so shocked of what I was seeing I wasn't sure if the next few moments happened. One minute all I could see was Kyle and the Redcoats about to shoot him and the next they were screaming out and falling to the ground. One of the men who was previously on the ship Kyle snuck off of had jumped over the ships railing to tackle the nearest guard to the ground and rolled back up to fire a pistol at another guard. Half way through the fight my vision went back to Italy when Ezio had taken down armored guards on his own. The reason it did was because the man fighting now was wearing white and had a hood up as well. I held my breath as the man took down a total of eight guards on his own in such a short time. During the fight Kyle had the sense to sneak away before everyone decided to go pay attention to him.

After seeing him not in danger anymore, I slipped away from the crowd. I made my way back to warehouses where I saw Kyle slip towards. I turned around the corner of the nearest one where we could still seen docks. I found him behind some crates and barrels hunched over the crate of tea he stole. My panic from earlier transformed and I stalked over to him. I slapped him upside the head.

"Kyle, you are the most idiotic person I've ever met. What the HELL were you thinking? You could've died sneaking on board!" I nearly screamed at him. He winced at my voice, sending a sheepish smile at me that did nothing to calm my nerves. "Don't you have any idea how reckless that was? You would've died on the street as some faceless stranger on the street. I wouldn't be able to..."

I trailed off. It was too hard to tell him I wouldn't be able to see him where he's going and I would be all alone. Being the same age, I was used to seeing Kyle everywhere either in class or around the house. He was virtually the only person I felt safe around. I have friends a part from him, but it wouldn't be the same. He knew me and I knew him. With him gone I wouldn't be myself anymore.

Kyle tilted his head at me. His eyes softened and he stood to reach a hand over to my head, rubbing it. He grinned.

"C'mon, sis. You know I wouldn't die on you just yet. Besides, I had to get on the ship for something important," he said. He jerked a thumb over at the crate. "Remember we never got to get Mom a birthday present? I figure she would like some genuine tea."

That's right. Before we bought the hourglass, we were shopping for Mom's birthday gift. We never did buy her anything. So, he figured he would get something she would like while we were traveling? That was considerate of him. Yet, still...

"Just...don't scare me like that again," I reluctantly said. What's happened happened. "Promise you'll tell me you're going to do something like that if you have to. At least I'll have the heart attack in advance."

"No promises."

Kyle lifted his hand from my head and crouched back over the crate. He dug his fingers under the lid. After a few minutes, he managed to pry it off to reveal a few small sacks full of tea leaves. My nose twitched at the smell. It was nice, but I was put off by the fact it was meant to be a drink. He rifled through the sacks.

"How many should we take?" he asked.

"Maybe four? I think she'd like some of the genuine stuff, so she'll won't ask for more."

"Right. Mom does love her tea."

He took out four bags and held it up for me. I took them gently, then placed them inside my bag securely. If anything happens, it won't ruin my poster of Connor.

"Alright. Got it. Now, go dump that tea in the harbor," I instructed him.

"Will do!" Kyle stood and picked up the small crate of tea. With great pleasure he threw the tea into the harbor. It made the satisfying sound of a splash. "I've always wanted to do that."

"Yeah, a dream come true, " I muttered, rolling her eyes. What a history nut. I opened my mouth to tell Kyle we should leave, but paused. Out of the corner of my eyes I saw something. Turning, I looked towards the ships to see something strange.

Among the cheering people, I could see a man standing beside another man I recognized on one of the ships. The first man was the one who came out of nowhere and saved Kyle. The two were talking to one another. The first man was quite intimidating with his broad shoulders showing through his white tailcoats. The coat he wore resembled something someone in an army would wear. However, I noticed a bow slung across his back with a quiver as well as a pistol holder and a tomahawk at his hip. This guy was clearly armed and probably knew how to use it. Something about his quiver, though, made me swear I've seen him before. Not only that the bands around his arms had patterns that were familiar. It was hard to tell because of the hood he was wearing that covered and shadowed his face. Who was this guy?

On cue the man turned his head towards me. He was staring directly at me. Beneath his hood I could have sworn I saw amber eyes. Intense amber eyes that no one could forget.

"Lettie?"

I broke my gaze to turn back to Kyle. He looked concerned and curious at what I could be staring at.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine." I shook my head and noticed the man was gone. It was probably a trick of light. There was no way I'd see him again here. "Come on. We should head for the next event."

Kyle nodded. He nudged me forward and started walking towards an alley to use the hourglass privately and out of sight. What I didn't notice were the amber eyes staring at us in the midst of the exuberant crowd.

* * *

**Bleh, sorry it's been awhile. I would've had this up about a week ago, but school started and I have to get used to college schedule now. That, and this chapter refused to cooperate with me. I keep debating on whether or not to do this in third person since I'm used to that style. It's hard to write someone else's thoughts, even if it's my character. In the ed I decided to keep it in Lettie's first person view. So, sorry in advance if some of the events get boring. The Boston Tea party wasn't as exciting as I thought it would be. Well, not as exciting as getting accused of being a criminal. I swear once it gets to the mid-1770s things will pick up for the two. Just hang on for the next few events. Hm, next one should be the Lexington and Concord battles. What will happen in this event? Even I don't know yet!**** Until next time, then!  
**

**Please review!  
**


	5. Friendly Fire

Chapter 5

The year 1774 held the most well remembered events for several reasons. It was the first real start of the American Revolutionary war where many men took up arms against the British to fight for their freedom. What most people truly remember about this year was how a man rode through the night warning the townspeople of Lexington and Concord of the oncoming British army. From what they would remember learning during childhood about the Revolution, most people would admit they knew about the ride of Paul Revere as he rode along to warn people. That's what I even believed. But, since I'm not a history major like Kyle, there was obviously a lot more to this ride than a man on a horse yelling the ever famous words, "The British are coming! The British are coming!"

I huddled under the trees surrounding the small town of Lexington. The sky was still dark but was steadily lightening into dawn. Despite being the middle of April, it was still rather chilly being early morning and all. We had arrived on April 19, 1774 far earlier than I expected. While we had arrived at events just a few minutes before they occurred, this time we were forced to arrive an hour before it was time. Kyle explained the first battle in Lexington had happened just as the sun was rising. I didn't understand it myself, but he said that it was important we knew what we were doing while the battle happened.

Because I made Kyle promise we would stay out of the battles and he wouldn't run off on me without saying anything like during the Tea Party, he decided we had to come an hour before the event to create a plan. He wanted to know what we were both doing to mske sure neither of ud got in trouble again. The moment we arrived he said he would look around the area to hear what some of the locals were saying about the Colonists' plans. We already suspected they knew the British infantry were on their way to Lexington to search for supplies being hidden. They had been warned beforehand by Paul Revere and some guy named William Dawes about them approaching the towns soon. How was it we remembered Paul Revere but not William Dawes for the Midnight Ride? American History made no sense at all sometimes. As it was, Kyle had left me huddled under a tree near the edge of Lexington while he went to go gather information. This was fine by me.

I yawned widely, leaning my head against my arms resting on my knees. Early mornings made me sleepy. With time travel I wasn't sure how long I'd been awake for. I normally measure that by how long the sun has been out to when it sets to see how long I had been awake. Because we were traveling through time, I now had to measure by how much energy my body had. So far, I knew I was sleepy. I looked towards the houses of the town nearby. I say town, but it seemed more like a village. There weren't as many houses here than what I was used to seeing in a city, but that's obviously why people lived in towns. They were significantly smaller than cities. White picket fences separated people's

properties along with the animal pens for their livestock. More than a few homes had lanterns lit; it was equivalent to a person lighting their porch light to signify the people living there were home and awake. Already, men and women were moving about. Crowds of people hung nearby to see the oncoming fight. Of course they hung back at a safe distance in case of stray bullets. The able men hurried up and down the main road dressed in the blue uniform of the Patriots and carried muskets on their shoulders. I wasn't surprised there were so few men coming out to fight on the front lines. An estimate of what I saw were maybe seventy to one hundred men hurrying down the road to form lines. Lexington was a small town. They were going to get massacred compared to the size of what I imagined the British infantry to hold.

Seeing the men hurry off twisted my heart painfully. Didn't these men realize they were going to get killed? They were risking their lives for a freedom that wouldn't come for many years. They had wives, children, brothers, and sisters they were leaving behind to go through with this. Were they truly ready to risk their lives for the freedom they might never get? What made it worse was how no one in my time would remember who these brave men were. No one would remember their names, their lives, what they liked or disliked...They would be statistics on a piece of paper. That was what they would always be to me before this trip through time happened. Now seeing them made me realize these people were human just like me. They would never get the chance to live their lives like I would. It wasn't fair.

I rubbed my eyes before tears could form. One of the many things I hated about time travel. We knew what was going to happen, but we couldn't change anything if it meant endangering our future. Countless lives had to be lost for the sake of how we live comfortably in the modern era. It didn't mean I had to  
like it. I didn't want to see people die. I was better off not knowing that these people were flesh and blood and not a statistic.

When I opened my eyes back to the road I saw Kyle approach me. I could easily see him now that the sun had broken light in the horizon and through the morning mist. He had his hands in his pockets and wore a frown on his face. I stood up as he neared.

"So, what's the plan?" I asked, crossing my arms to preserve warmth. Jeez, my hands were freezing!

"I know what we're doing, but it could get dangerous," he replied, solemnly.

"Traveling through time is dangerous already."

"True. Really, though. This plan could get really dangerous if we're not careful."

Uh -oh. I know the moment he starts saying we need to be careful is the one time he is actually serious.

"What are we supposed to do? What's going to happen?" I asked, nervously.

"From what I know, the British Military will be arriving down this road from Boston." Kyle pointed to the road where the militia men were preparing for the battle. "There's going to be about seven hundred Infantrymen marching towards Concord to go investigate the issue about illegal supplies being hidden there. The army will mainly consist of eight light infantry and eight grenadier companies on the orders of Major General Sir Thomas Gage, the colony's new royal governor. They were supposed to see if there were supplies and destroy them, but they didn't expect the Lexington militia to be here waiting for them. As you can see, the militia minutemen were being led by Captian John Parker."

He pointed to an older man walking about the lines telling them to get prepared and get their supplies ready. I frowned at how he coughed into his hand a few times.

"Stand your ground men! Don't fire unless fired upon! But, if they mean to have a war, let it begin here!" he yelled at the men. Such inspiring words...But for how long?

"Is he okay? He doesn't look so good." Understatement. The man looked haggard and weak, like he didn't have the strength to get out of bed much less move around. How could he risk his health ti be out here? I paused upon seeing another man dressed in white approach Captain John Parker. Wait a minute. Wasn't that...?

Kyle interrupted my thoughts. "He's suffering from tuberculosis. Of course he's not okay. But, he has to be out here commanding the militia. He fought in the French Indian war! Around here, he's the closest they can get to a military leader. He's the only one capable of commanding them at the moment."

I hummed, impressed. It was amazing how a man was so dedicated to protecting his nation he would command a militia while being completely sick. The man had guts.

"Then, when's the British army going to come? Who are they being led by?" I asked. For once I was interested to hear about history. What has this trip been doing to me? I hate history. It was one of my worst subjects in school.

"They're being led by Major John Pitcairn. As for the time "

He stopped when the men grew quiet. The sound of marching came off nearby. We looked up to see lines of Redcoat soldiers arrive on the hill over yonder with their muskets over their soldiers. At the front came a man similarly dressed in red, but more refined, on his horse.

"Disperse, you damned rebels!" the man yelled. Somehow, his voice managed to carry over to here. I could also hear the hint of a Scottish accent. I wish I had an accent. The way the vowels rolled on his tongue was cool. "Lay down your arms and disperse!"

For a moment silence reigned across the road. Confused, I looked to see the two armies were glaring at

one another, neither making an attempt to move. If it was possible, I could see the tension between them. I opened my mouth to ask Kyle what was going on and why no one was doing anything when he grabbed my arm. He started pulling me from our position near the trees onto the road near the civilians. All were waiting anxiously for something. No one really noticed us walking down the road.

"Kyle, what's going on? Why are we leaving?" I asked.

"Lettie, they're going to start shooting at each other pretty soon," he said, grimly. "I don't know who made the first shot, but when it happens there will be more. I figured once the first shot is made we have to get out of the firing range. It's going to get bloody back there."

"Then, where are we heading?"

We froze when we heard a single gunshot behind us. Our heads snapped up at the far off ring of shots flying through the countryside. Off in the distance came the drums of battle for the army behind us to start moving once more. Men in their colonial army uniforms were running towards the sounds of battle while a few were running away from it, directing the townspeople to run off towards Concord. Kyle tugged at my sleeve.

"Come on! We gotta get to Concord!" he exclaimed, pulling me into a run.  
"But, why? I thought we were going to watch the battle?" I asked, still running behind him.

"The battle of Lexington wasn't a full out battle. It was a skirmish. The real battle is over at Concord because the Colonial militia was outnumbered in Lexington," he explained. He hopped over a fallen log. "They had to retreat towards Concord where the gunpowder and weapons were hidden."

"Why would they hide their gunpowder and weapons if they knew they were going into battle? That makes no sense!"

"They didn't know they were going into battle today. They thought the British were going to get their supply during their inspections so they hid it. Most of their supplies comprised of mainly illegally imported goods. A battle was the thing they least expected to happen."

I slowed a bit. This bloody battle over an inspection of whether weapons existed in Concord or not? This was ridiculous! I wanted to pull Kyle back into the woods and use the hourglass to leave this battle behind us. But, there were people running around us, pushing us down the road that prevented me from doing so. I would have to wait until we got to Concord before I could do anything.

We ran down the road leading to Concord. All around us we could discern between the Patriots and the civilians. The Patriots were yelling for their comrades to keep firing at the army that began to march behind us, stopping every few moments to fire off their own shots then replace their ammo. The civilians'

reactions were most likely the worst. Men, women, and children ran down the road for their lives. Some of them stopped or tripped over because they were shot from behind. No one had time to grieve for the fallen and the dead. If they tripped, they were as good as dead. And it broke my heart. In front of me I had a clear sight of Kyle weaving around the multiple people and trying not to get shot. I did my best to look behind me every so often to make sure a soldier wasn't behind me to shoot me. I wasn't sure how long I had been running, but the air I drew burned my lungs. I knew I couldn't stop running. Stopping would mean I was dead. So, I ran. I ran because this time my life did depend on it. No matter how tired I was getting, I had to keep going.

Another shot sounded behind me. I gasped when something heavy fell on me from behind. It nearly knocked the wind out of me as I landed on the ground. I groaned, rolling my torso. My side and my knee started to throb painfully. Looking down, I nearly stopped breathing. A man had fallen on top of me. His eyes were glazed and his mouth open in a silent scream. I wanted to scream myself, but I was too scared. As it was I whimpered.

"Kyle! Kyle!" I yelled. I tried to push the man off of me. I looked wildly around. Many people were running down the road past me to run from the marching army. No one, it seemed, was willing to notice me. Kyle had disappeared as well.

Squeezing my eyes closed, I wriggled out from underneath the man. He was too heavy for me to get him off of me. I crawled away from him, covering my mouth. I resisted the urge to lose what little food I've had in the last how many hours in the middle of this. I've watched a lot of forensic television shows where people investigated dead bodies to see how they died. Sometimes, their bodies were unrecognizable and desecrated to the point I didn't want to look. I wasn't bothered by the gory details. Yet, I couldn't handle the sight of a dead man right in front of me. I always thought I would be able to handle seeing a dead body for the first time well. Guess I was wrong. I couldn't handle it because this was a real dead body. It wasn't one of fiction where they got some props and arranged for it to look

like a real dead body. It was real flesh, blood, and bone. Television hasn't prepared me for this emotional impact, I can tell you that.

I tried to push away these feelings, trying to gather myself together. I was in the middle of a battle with an army marching upon us. I couldn't waste time sitting here and crying over a man who just died. As horrible as that is for me to think it was the hard truth. He was already dead. I had to worry about myself. I stood to my feet, wobbling as I did so. I was about to run off when someone suddenly grabbed my arm.

"Where do you think you're goin'?" growled a man. Slowly, I looked over my shoulder to see what I dreaded the most. A British soldier. Two of them, in fact. With them were some men and a woman who all had scared expressions on their faces that matched mine.

I kept silent. Too frightened was I that it was impossible for any word to come out of my mouth.

"Not gonna say anythin', are ya? That's fine. Don't need to talk where you're goin'." He shoved me away by my shoulder. I stumbled for a second, but I quickly managed to straighten when I saw him jab his bayonet at me. "Hands behind yer head! Start walkin'!"

I scurried off into the rest of the group. It would be stupid to lose my life just because I didn't listen. They pointed their muskets at us and jabbed us towards the direction of the woods. Oh, no...

I tried not to cry while they marched us towards the forest. They were going to kill us. Why? Did they seriously think that we might have had something to do with this battle? That we had gone out of our way to annoy them by hiding illegal weapons in the countryside? Jeez, no wonder the colonists hate these guys. With them as a higher power I would be pissed, too. I wanted to rub my eyes of my tears, but we weren't allowed to move our hands from behind our heads. If I did move, I wouldn't have any tears to cry period. Well, this was it. I was going to die in the past just as I feared. I had so much to live for! I wanted to graduate from college, find a good man, get a good job, have kids, retire, and live my life as an old woman until the day I die in my bed of old age. If I died here, I wouldn't be able to do anything of that stuff. I would be but one of the faceless and nameless that was a casualty of this stupid yet important war. Not for the first time, I could only curse society and wars in general.

I hate history.

I had almost resigned myself to my fate. It wasn't until I heard a shot behind us that I gained hope again. We all heard an agonizing cry behind us (directly behind me, as a matter of fact). Astonished, we turned around to see the Redcoat infantry man was on the ground sprawled out. From the glazed eyes and the hole in the back of his head and not to mention his brains splattered in the grass (the woman gasped and looked away while the two men looked they were about to throw up), he was dead.

"What?! Who did that!?" screamed the last infantryman. He searched the area with his weapon raised, angry. His shaking hands spoke the truth. He was afraid he was next. Something in me rose up the moment I saw his back turned.

To be honest, I wasn't sure what got over me. Being so scared, I also felt angry that someone was making me afraid for my life. I hated the fact he was going to kill me for something I had no part of and he was too stupid to see that. Were my clothes not evidence enough that I was not of this era? Not only that, he was going to take my life away. He was going to take other people's lives away. This was something I could not forgive.

With a sudden burst of energy and inspiration I bent down over the dead man and swiped up his musket. Not like he'll need it. And, without thinking this properly through, I raised the musket and thrust it towards the man. I had meant to get his musket out of his hands, but he must have sensed me coming.

He had turned slightly in time to see me thrust the bayonet through his chest. I gasped and stared in eyes as wide as my own in surprise. The impact made a horrible squelching noise I'll never forget. It peirced right through his torso like a carving knife into a turkey during Christmas. I released the musket I held like it was made of lava. This allowed the infantryman to drop dead to the ground, blood pouring out of his wound. He didn't move.

I backed away from the dead man as did the other men and woman. They looked around the area to see if there were any more soldiers hiding. Seeing none, they ran off before more could come. But the woman paused and touched my shoulder. I managed to lift my eyes from the ground to see her. She gave me a smile, but it didn't reach her eyes.

"Thank you," she said.

That was all she said before she, too, ran off towards Concord once more. Leaving me and two dead soldiers behind without a second glance.

Now that I was alone, I allowed myself to lose myself to my bodies' demands. The adraneline from before left my body and sapped my energy. I slid down to my jelly like knees, allowing myself to cry shocked tears. What have I done? I've just killed a man, that's what I did. I didn't know what to think. I didn't mean to kill him! I just wanted to disarm him! Why did he have to turn at the last second? If he had only stayed where he was for a second, he wouldn't have died. I didn't want him dead. I wanted him to let us go. He may have been the enemy of the colonies and he was going to kill us, but I certainly didn't want him dead! I always thought myself a pacifist, the better person in a disagreement. I never started fights, I preferred talking things through before coming to violence, and I didn't like it when people argued. Killing that man was against everything I believed in. What if he was actually a nice person and acted like this because of this battle? What if he had friends and family waiting for him and they would realize he wasn't coming back? What have I done?

"Lettie."

Warm arms wrapped around my neck in a comforting embrace. A hard body came from behind me and laid their head on top of mine.

"Sorry. I'm really sorry," Kyle said from behind. He hugged me tightly. From the sound of his voice, he was upset as I was. "I I didn't see you were gone until I saw you being marched away. If I had acted sooner, you wouldn't have to kill that man. I couldn't find another musket in time. I'm sorry."

What? I managed to stop crying long enough to consider what he said. What did he mean by that? Sniffling, I pried Kyle's arms off of me. I faced him properly. He was crouching just behind me to hug me, but I noticed several things. One, he had his own musket laid by his feet, and two, he wasn't wearing his glasses. That's what got me. Kyle was nearly blind without his glasses. For as long as I can remember I've never seen him without his glasses despite how good he looked without them (my friends in high school kept mentioning how cute he was without them on). I told him to start wearing contacts so he could get a girlfriend. Despite everything I said, he refused to wear contacts. He said he hated how he had to touch his eyeball to get a small flimsy plastic in there. So, that begs the question: why wasn't he wearing his glasses?

Kyle rubbed the back of his head, grinning. His light brown eyes were much more noticeable without the huge frames hanging on his face. "Yeah, I look weird without my glasses on, huh?"

"Why aren't they on?" I asked.

"I had to take them off so I could shoot that first infantryman from over there," he replied, squinting off in a location nearby. I rolled my eyes.

"Put your glasses on, dork."

"Oh! Right." He reached into his jeans to pull out his glasses. He put them back on his face and he looked like my regular dorky brother again. "Much better. I'm lucky I was able to get over here without tripping."

"You were saying?" I said, impatiently. Why was he so scatterbrained? Wait a second...What did he say before? My jaw dropped. He said he shot the first infantryman. Was I being the one who was scatterbrained? He confessed he shot someone and I concentrate on the fact he wasn't wearing glasses? What was wrong with me? "Kyle, you killed that soldier?"

He nodded his head solemnly. "Yeah. I had to do it! That guy was about to kill you! When I saw you walking away, looking like you were about to cry I just...snapped. I grabbed a musket lying on the road, got inside an open house to the second story and, well..."

"No. I understand." Kyle did what he thought was right just like how I accidentally killed that man. I didn't mean for it to happen and neither did he. It just did. It wasn't right and it was horrible, but it happened. Was this how soldiers felt when they killed their first person? I'm going to need therapy for this. I rubbed my forehead, trying to ignore the bodies around us. "Can we leave now? I want to go home."

"I know, but we're not finished with the events yet. We'll take a break if you want."

"A break? I don't think I can handle this anymore! I got accused of being a criminal, you almost got killed in the middle of the Tea Party, and now we had to kill people to survive. How many more events of the Revolution are left? How many more issues do we have to go through no matter how much we try to avoid being apart of it? I want to go home!"

"Lettie, calm down," Kyle said in a calm tone himself. How could he remain calm? We just killed people! He laid his hands on my shoulders to keep me steady. Was I swaying? I couldn't tell. I knew I was breathing heavily because my chest was rising and falling rapidly. He met my eyes with determination again. "I promise you this will be the last time something like this happens. No matter what I'm going to protect you. I'm not going to let anything happen to you no matter what age or era we're in. If you can get through this trip, I swear I won't ask you for anything else ever again."

I kept silent. I really wasn't sure I wanted to continue. He sighed.

"I'll clean your room until the day you get married," he offered, lamely. He cracked an easy smile. I managed one as soon as I saw his effort.

"That'll be a long time. I don't plan on getting married until my thirties" I teased. I rubbed my eyes with the sleeve of my hoodie.

He snapped his fingers. "Dang! That means I'll have to get married before you do."

"Good luck with that. Try finding a girl who's willing to date you first."

"Okay, ouch! That hurt. I'm pretty good looking. You said so yourself."

"I only said that so I wouldn't hurt your feelings."

"So mean," he chuckled. His smile grew wide when he saw me starting to giggle. How could I not? He was being so ridiculous. This situation was so messed up. He was trying to cheer me up despite the fact that we killed two people in self defense. I couldn't help but laugh. It was all surreal. "There we go. You're always better when you're smiling. Has anyone ever told you how serious you are all the time?"

"Only by you all the time," I sniffled.

"Exactly! You take things too seriously." Kyle snapped his fingers. "I know what will cheer you up. How about we take a break from our little trip and go get some gelato in modern times? I know you've always wanted to try authentic gelato if we had ever vacationed in Europe. We can now."

I thought for a moment. I did need the break from being in near death situations. I made a promise to Kyle to go through the American Revolution. He needed it for his grade. Since we were already doing it, it was only right to finish what we started. We were never the type to do things half way through. It was only right to do this. I groaned. Oh, no. I was already giving in.

"Fine. A break it is. But you owe me two scoops scoops of gelato and you cleaning my room until the day I get married," I sighed.

Kyle looked grateful for that. He stood back up and held out his hand to me. I took it and he hauled me

back to my feet. He didn't let go of me and took me towards the forest. We were going to leave this year, but we were never going to forget what we've done. No matter how much we try to downplay it the fact of the matter is we've killed people.

When I thought we weren't going to be changed by this trip at the start I was wrong. So wrong. We had changed the moment we had decided to go through this and we were never going to get our innocence back. This solidified the fact that we can't go back to who we were. I was even more afraid of what was to come. Would we really be alright by the end of this?

I can only hope.

* * *

**Well, looks like Lettie and Kyle made their first kill, be it accidental or intentional. They are traveling through time during a war. It had to happen sooner or later. Unfortunately for Lettie, things are going to get a lot worse during the next few events. In the meantime they get to take a break during the modern era! Whoo- hoo! Next chapter has them stopping once again in Italy while meeting a few familiar faces. Hm, I wonder what's going to happen?**

**Please review! **


	6. Future Advice

Chapter 6

We appeared in a tiny alleyway in between two small buildings. Kyle pulled the key out of the hourglass and held out the key for me. I stuffed it back into my shirt, looking up to see the blue sky. For once we weren't in a place where the sun was hidden. I always felt like the overcast sky was locking us up.

"Alright, time to go get gelato!" Kyle exclaimed, excited. He led the way out of the alley onto a cobble stoned street. I peered around, relieved to see cars and store signs selling modern day products. I never thought I'd be happy to see such simple modern things like cars and lights. People dressed in shorts and shirts walked up and down the street with cameras out to snap pictures. It was pretty hot that day.

"Where are we?" I asked, unzipping my hoodie to take it off for the first time. I wrapped it around my waist so I wouldn't lose it. It felt strange to be showing my shoulders after being around modest women.

"Monterrigioni, Italy. Located on the Tuscany countryside," Kyle answered, taking off his hoodie as well. "I figured you would want to be around modern stuff and be used to historical sites so you wouldn't freak out again when we start again."

**"**I don't think I want to see another historical site for as long as I live."

"Too bad for you historical sites surround us every day of our lives."

I hated the fact he was right. I had nothing against historic places, but after nearly getting killed several times and killing a man in self-defense I was getting tired of it. Was it so hard to want to stay in my original time period for the rest of my life? Time travel wasn't as fun as people make it out to be. It was dangerous and stressful.

"So, why Mon-whatever this place is called? We couldn't go to Venice or something for some gelato?" I asked as we started walking down the street. From what I can see this place was incredibly small compared to the towns we've visited or even some cities. Off in the distance huge stone walls and watch towers surrounded the town. It was fort-like in design, so I'm guessing this place is older than it looks.

"Monterrigioni," he corrected me. "I thought it would be nice to see some place not that well known. After our visit to Renaissance Italy, I started to wonder about other tourist destinations that were still historical in value and I found this town. And, well..."

"Well, what?"

Kyle coughed nervously, looking towards some small cafe where people were lined up. "You know that guy we met? Ezio Auditore?"

I nodded. How could I forget? I kept being reminded of him wherever I go despite meeting him the one time.

"I looked him up after we got home. It wasn't him I found, but this place. His family built this town to what it is today. The villa over there was originally built by the Auditore family. A man named Dominico Auditore was the one who funded the reconstruction of the town in 1321 and made the villa over there." Kyle pointed over to a large villa that stood out from the town. It looked very impressive with its own steps and what looked to be a courtyard. It had a beautiful garden surrounding it. It was like it watched over the town like the people who built it. However, the villa itself was ruined. The walls were cracked and teeming with ivy while pillars that once held up the home lay dead and cracked on the floor. It was a sad sight. It was obviously well loved at one point, but now it was abandoned. "In 1500 the family lost control of Monterrigioni to the Borgia, who invaded at the town at the time. Even after they gained control of this place sometime after, it was never the same. They were allowed to by the ruling family of Florence more out of obligation for a family friend."

"The Auditores did all of that?"

"Well, they _were_ a noble family. From what I know, they were friends with the Medici, the ruling family in Florence during that time period."

Wow, could Ezio get anymore amazing? Ezio did alot of stuff for me already like saving my virtue and finding Kyle for me. And his family managed to rebuild an entire town? That was just impressive. Yet, why have I never heard of him before now? Well, I don't like history, so that explained it.

We walked through the town for a bit, trying to find a gelato shop. I managed to take in the sights of the town. It was absolutely gorgeous. Although it was old and ancient, I couldn't deny the fact it was so beautiful. The houses were small and had gardens holding a variety of flowers hanging from their brick fences. The streets, though narrow, were made of cobblestone just like out of a fairytale. With the late afternoon sun everything was drenched in gold. Honestly, the place looked exactly what I would imagine a town in a fairytale to look like! Obviously, I wasn't the only one who thought so because the tourists all around us were snapping pictures of every house, street, and square they were in. Eventually, we walked down a street and came to a large square in front of a church. In the center of the square was a well. Across the square from the church were a bunch of shops. One of the shops had a sign standing outside of it. On the sign was a picture of an ice cream cone.

"Alright! There it is!" Kyle exclaimed like a child, pointing and all. He scanned the square for a moment almost like he was looking for something. "Hey, sis, why don't you stay here while I go get the gelato? You can take in the sights and relax for a bit."

I nodded. I wasn't really up for doing anything. I was still a little shaken from what just happened. Just then a thought occurred to me. "Wait a minute. How are you going to pay for the gelato? We don't have the currency here."

"What, the euro? I have some," he reassured me. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his wallet where he took out two blue twenty euro bills. My jaw dropped.

"Where did you get those? We didn't even exchange any of our money!" I exclaimed in disbelief.

"Someone, uh, gave it to me."

Kyle was lying. I just knew it. Kyle was a terrible liar. Whenever he lies to me he never meets my eyes. His hand was reaching up to pick at his strands of hair on his neck, which it does when he lies.

"Kyle, look me in the eyes," I demanded in my best Mom voice. She does the same whenever we lie to her face. She was good at telling if we were lying or not. It was inconvenient growing up. I was always told I had the same skill, which I kind of do. It worked with Kyle. He lifted his eyes as I narrowed my own. "Did you steal the money?"

"What? No!"

Hm, he hadn't averted his eyes when he said that.

"Then, where did the money come from?"

"A friend gave it to me!" I stared at him blankly and he threw up his hands. "I'm not lying! Before we started this trip, I was planning on how to ask you to agree to it. I thought about using gelato to bribe you to go on this trip. So, I went to a friend to ask if she had some euros left over from her trip to Europe a couple years ago."

Kyle kept eye contact with me. I wanted to believe he was telling me the truth, but I had this feeling in the pit of my stomach that he wasn't. Why would Kyle want to lie to me? I wanted to confront him on this, but by this point I was so tired.

"Fine, whatever," I muttered. I waved him off. "Go get me my gelato. It's freakin' hot here."

He smiled in relief and nodded. He quickly scurried off towards the shop and disappeared inside.

I wandered over to the well in the center of the square and leaned against it. I was still well within sight of the shop. While waiting for Kyle, I decided to look around the square. In the process I took off my t-shirt so my white camisole was in view. I safely stashed my shirt in my bag. Man, was it hot! Regardless of the heat, Monterrigioni really was beautiful. Small, and quiet, but beautiful. I wouldn't mind living in a place like this. It must have been the tourist season because there were a lot more people around. Makes me wonder what the exact date is right now. It was late winter the last I remember. Being so small, I doubted that most of the people wandering around were locals. Not to mention they were all snapping photos of everything from the food they ate to the historical landmarks. To these people they would always be landmarks that they could visit that survived many years after its constructions. Was it really lucky for me and Kyle to have the ability to go see it when it was brand new? Would the significance devalue landmarks for us since we could actually go back and see them as they were hundreds of years ago? I couldn't help but feel like history was losing its meaning to me.

History has never been my strongest point. That was Kyle's forté. I was more the literature/culture type of girl. I loved reading different books from different eras. Old books were probably the one thing I loved. If I could find a first edition of a book, I would die happy. Would that mean if I used the hourglass to travel back in time to get the first edition of my favorite books the meaning wouldn't be the same? I don't think it would. If it managed to survive years and years after printing, it would mean more to me looking old and tattered rather than looking fresh off the press. It survived over the years where humans could't. I think Kyle might feel the same way now that we're traveling through history. It all seemed so much better on paper. It would be boring for me, but for Kyle he was really excited about this trip. I wonder why?

I find it odd how he wants to keep traveling through the American Revolution despite the fact we just killed two people. Didn't he care that he took away someone's life? Why wasn't he affected as much as I was? Kyle wouldn't have made me go through this. As my older brother, he found it his duty to protect me from anything he found dangerous. What we did was dangerous. So, why would he keep putting us in danger? The Battle of Lexington wasn't even the worst battle! I know there are more terrible battles ahead that we have to visit so why? I shook my head. No. Kyle wouldn't have any other motive for doing this other than his stupid grade. He thought school was important. He would punish himself if he didn't get perfect straight A's all the time. He wouldn't have any other reason to continue this trip through time than his grade...right?

I snapped out of my multiple questions about Kyle's possible motives when a hand wrapped around my wrist. Snapping my head up, I found a man in his late twenties standing beside me. He had dirty blond hair and glasses on the bridge of his nose. I was astonished to see he was glowering at me. I nearly shrank back from his gaze.

"Arlette, are you really that stupid? What are you doing standing here in broad daylight? Are you trying to get their attention?" hissed the man.

"Excuse me?" I asked in disbelief. What was this guy talking about? I looked around to see if he was talking to someone else. Strangers don't normally walk up to people and grab their wrists to glare at them. "A-Are you talking to me?"

"No, I'm talking to the other American girl with an ancient key hanging around her neck," he retorted sharply, rolling his eyes. He let go of my wrist, which grabbed my key. How did he know this was ancient? This looked like any other key accessory! He waved towards the villa with the hand he used to grab me. I noticed he held a plastic bag with his other hand. "Of course I mean you!Honestly, are all Americans this naive or is it merely the Assassin ones? Well, whatever. You should head back before Lucy sends Desmond out to find you. And don't we know how much of a hassle that is with the short scheduale we're on? We can't afford to waste time with him out of the Animus."

I stared at the obviously English man like he spoke a different language. Which reminds me, why was it I could hear people speak with accents when they're clearly speaking in a different language? I noticed that when several locals passed me and spoke with not that heavy Italian accents but spoke nearly perfect English. I could still understand them. So, what was this guy talking about?

"Um, I think you've got the wrong person," I said. Silently, I lamented how normal I used to be before using the hourglass. Why did I attract all the crazy people?

"What do you mean I've got the wrong person? I think I'd recognize you by the scar on your-" The man paused. He stared at my bare shoulder roasting slowly to a brown under the Italian sun with open surprise. Why, I had no idea. He turned his eyes back to my face, scrutinizing me. All in all it made me uncomfortable in my own skin. His eyebrows rose as his jaw dropped. "You don't have the scar. You must have the scar unless..."

He trailed off. I fidgeted. What scar? I don't have any distinct scars on me. I pleaded for Kyle to hurry up and get back here. I didn't want to be alone with this guy any longer than necessary.

"What's the year?" he suddenly asked.

"Huh?"

He rolled his eyes. Jerk. "What is the year?"

"Um, 2010," I answered, hesitantly.

He tensed, muttering under his breath. I caught the words, "so they're starting out..." What could that mean? I decided to stop making sense of this guy. He was making no sense at all.

"Well, then," he said, clearing his throat. He held out his hand. Cautiously, I shook it. "A pleasure meeting you. Sorry I've wasted your time. Good luck with everything."

And just like that, the strange man scurried off down the street and out of my sight.

For a second I stood there, bewildered by the meeting. Well, that was unexpected. It's not everyday a random guy comes up to me asking me what year it is and talking like he knows me. A thought popped into my head. Wait a second...He couldn't...

"Lettie, a little help?" asked Kyle. He approached me with two small disposable bowls with spoons in them along with two water bottles crushed between his arms and torso. I hurried over to grab the water bottles before he dropped everything. He sighed. "Thanks. It felt like my arms were going to freeze off."

"You couldn't call me over for help?"

"Well, you looked pretty busy flirting with that guy." He handed me a bowl filled with two scoops of what looked to be purple ice cream while I handed him a water bottle.

"I was not flirting with him!" I denied. "He was some weirdo that came up to me."

He laughed. "Whatever you say. What did this weirdo want?"

I shrugged, taking my first taste of cold, sugary goodness. Hm, taste like berries. Nice. I took the spoon out of my mouth before I answered. "Dunno. He just came up to me and started talking to me. By the way, what's the year?"

"Um, why?"

"Just answer it."

"Yeah, about that...Um, I may have over shot our year when I used the hourglass."

"Kyle Alfred Vinova, what is the year?"

"...2012," he answered, quietly. "There was a calendar in the gelato shop that told me."

I froze. We were two years into our future? That would make us twenty-one by this year. We could be anywhere in the world. Hearing what year we were in confirmed what I was thinking a few minutes ago. I couldn't have known that man because I didn't know him. Not yet. I would know him later on. That's why he was talking to me so familiarly. I would know who he was in the future.

As if time travel wasn't confusing enough.

"You okay?" Kyle asked, uncertainly. "I know it's a little weird to be two years in the future, but it's not like we're going to meet our future selves. We're halfway across the world from where we live. Knowing us, we'd still be stuck in Seattle."

"No, I'm fine," I said. I smiled to reassure him. "It's just strange. We're supposed to be twenty-one right now. I wonder if I ever started to like drinking in bars and clubs by this time?"

"You? Drink? Yeah, right. Lettie, you hate drinking," he laughed. He leaned against the edge of the well next to me, spooning the delicious gelato in his mouth. "Remember Matt's grad party? After one bottle of beer and you were already drunk. Your tolerance sucks."

"Oh, God. Don't remind me." That party was not the highlight of my life. How could I forget my friends and Kyle telling me I made out with a bunch of guys I didn't even know? Not only that, I somehow woke up the next day in the house of my classmate, Samantha, half-naked next to her with the world's worst hangover. That was something I still can't live down. After drinking that one bottle, I swore off alcohol until I was legal to drink. Maybe then I would start to appreciate it. I scooped up a large amount of gelato into my mouth to get rid of the awful taste that memory left behind. "I swear after we're finished with this trip I'm gonna try drinking again. Just so in case I do go to bars with friends and drink I'll be able to handle more. And speaking of trips through time, where did you learn how to shoot?"

"What d'ya mean?"

"You...shot that soldier from a house twenty feet away. How did you manage aim and shoot from a second story window when you can't even see anything near you?"

"Oh. That. I'm far-sighted."

"Is that the one where you can't see far?"

He rolled his eyes. "No, switch it. Far-sighted means I can't see anything near me. Like, if I was reading a book without my glasses I'd have to have the book a little further away just to read it."

"Oh." Damn. I always get confused with these terms. Why couldn't they just say they couldn't see near and be done with it? "What does being far-sighted have to do with shooting that guy?"

"Everything, sis! Keep up. In layman's terms I have sniper eyes. If I ever joined the army or something, I would probably be the one on the roofs sniping people from a distance."

"Then, where did you learn how to shoot?"

"Call of Duty and Halo," was all he said with a satisfaction.

"So, basically video games taught you how to properly kill people from a distance?" I deadpanned.

He nodded. "Pretty much."

"Remind me to trash those games as soon as we get home." He learned how to kill that soldier from a distance because of a video game? I knew they were a bad influence! They probably corrupted him so he wasn't affected as much by their deaths like I was. I don't care if he learned how to do headshots or something. It was messing with his psyche! It was no wonder he was taking all of this in stride.

"Hey! They're pretty good games," he argued. "They're not as bad as Grand Theft Auto where all you do is go around cities doing illegal stuff like stealing people's cars and gunning down innocent people for the hell of it! Do you see me grabbing a rifle and going down the street shooting people in the heads because it's fun? Plus, you're lucky I _did_ play those games. If I hadn't, you wouldn't be here enjoying your gelato."

"It's still not right! Why would guys like games where all you do is shoot at each other and prove who's better at the game? It's dumb."

"Really? Then, what about your fascination with hack-and-slash games like Devil May Cry? You're basically going around killing things."

"That's different!"

"No, it's not! You play characters that are so badass when they pretty much behead monsters like zombies and demons. Tell me how that's different from being a badass by sniping people? They both have players killing things. Actually, that's the whole point of modern video games."

"Why are we even talking about this?" I asked, incredulously. How did we go from discussing his methods of how he killed a soldier to video games?

"It's your fault. You started bashing CoD and Halo," Kyle replied, petulant like a child. "You shouldn't bash a game just 'cause you're terrible at them."

"I hate first-person games, okay? I get headaches. And I'm not bashing those games. I'm saying that maybe it's not a good idea to play them since they're teaching people what gun does better in different situations or how to kill people. Like what you did with that soldier."

He gave me a blank look, like he was saying, "You're really not going to let that go." Of course I wasn't! How was he okay with this? He shouldn't be! Video games were different from actual reality. They were meant for entertainment, not to teach people how to kill. I love video games as much as he does, but I haven't learned how to decapitate people with something like a sword. He sighed.

"We'll talk about this when we get home. For now, let's enjoy our gelato before we go off into the perils of the American Revolution."

"It would be better if we just went home," I muttered, smoothing down what was left of my gelato into a conical shape in the middle of the bowl. "I don't see why we have to continue. Is your grade really worth your life?"

"It's not only for a grade," he said. He put down the bowl and looked towards a family of tourists all smiling and laughing. For some reason I felt cut off from them. How could they be so happy when people have died for them to be happy in the first place? "I...find the American Revolution interesting. Haven't you ever wondered how a colony managed to get their freedom from the English with what meager supplies they had? How was it possible for them to do this? What changes in people's lives did they have to sacrifice to get the courage to fight for freedom? How much has our country changed from those humble beginnings? I thought by traveling through the events I could see where they got their courage to get that freedom despite all the risks. What made them want to change where they came from to be the country we know today."

"And what did you see so far?" I asked. I was curious myself to see what he found.

"I'm amazed, to be honest," he admitted. His eyes lit up as he began to explain. "Can you believe that a colony managed to unite themselves against the very empire that ruled over them? Despite all the odds against them, they rose up and fought as a country to fight for their freedom. They were all separated by miles, but everyone knew what was going on and they wanted it. They wanted to rebel so they could live in a country that was free and _their's. _Miles apart from one another and they managed to organize themselves to form an army against an army that was far larger than their own. Everyone knew what was going on compared to the war in the Middle East today. Almost no one in America knows what's going on in that war unless they have family involved."

I'm ashamed to admit he was right. No one really knew or cared about the war in the Middle East. Years ago, people were all for the war against terrorism after what happened on September 11, 2001. A few years later no one really cared to know what was going on. Why were we in a war like that? What a waste of tax money, people would say. Did no one care there were men and women fighting across the ocean to fight a war no one knew who the enemy was? Going through the American Revolution war is making me see that maybe people should care. They should care that people are sacrificing their lives to ensure their children and future generations live in a world where everything's safe. However, as I knew human nature, nothing was truly safe. There would always be violence in the world whether we like it or not. I was proud to say I could see the people who fought to create the country we know today. They fought with everything they had to be free, and I'm proud to be apart of that country.

"Well, at least we can appreciate those people for what they have today," I said. I raised up my water bottle. "To the colonists."

Kyle grinned and tapped his bottle against mine. "To freedom."

I took a sip of the water. I may not like going through the battles and seeing people die, but I can happily say I was starting to appreciate what happened and the people who fought in the war. I want to see their courage and valor to fight for myself. Such things were rare in today's society. It was a nice change of pace. But, one thing about what Kyle said bothered me.

_To freedom._

He said people of that era were fighting for their freedom. What were they fighting for? Liberty and justice for all? They speak of liberty and justice...but for who? Is that really true? Can liberty and justice be achieved even today?

Guess I'll find out with this trip, won't I?

* * *

_The sound of gunfire and screams-_

_Crumbling walls brought down by cannonballs-_

_A figure in white running through the mayhem-_

_"ARLETTE!"_

_"NO, CONNOR!"_

I snapped opened my eyes, disoriented for a moment. The sky was dark and I was sitting on a bench in some courtyard. Kyle, for some inexplicable reason, was leaning against me. His head rested against my shoulder as he breathed evenly. What the hell?

Oh, that's right. I rubbed my eyes, which were fresh from sleep while trying to calm my throbbing heart. We were still in Monterrigioni.

After we had finished our gelato, Kyle and I decided to look around the town to get ourselves to relax before we jumped into more running and time-traveling. The town was nice and peaceful, I'll give it that. But, other than the nice scenery there really wasn't much to do in town. From what I've heard there were festivals held here, but we came at a time where there weren't any at the moment. We sat down on some bench just near the villa Kyle told me about earlier. It turns out the Auditore villa was huge, but it was in ruins. The courtyard was cleaned regularly and the people in charge changed the light bulbs on the lampposts situated throughout the courtyard, but beyond that the house was a wreck. It looked like no one had lived there for many, many years. It was a relic. We sat down on the bench and I remember leaning my head against Kyle's shoulder and closing my eyes. Next thing I know it's dark.

Huh, so I fell asleep? Not that surprising, I guess. After all the running I've done in the past couple hours, I was exhausted. So, we fell asleep in a forgotten corner where no one would be able to see us.

I carefully stood up from the bench, which happened to be behind a wall. I slipped out from under Kyle. He slumped onto the bench to lie on his side, still passed out. I smiled at his askew glasses, then I stretched and yawned. I feel so much better. Who knew time travel could be hard work? Looking at Kyle, I knew it would be awhile before he properly woke up. He should take the chance to get all of his energy back before we dive back into the Revolutionary War. Of course, now that I'm awake I'm not going to spend it by watching him sleep. When you're not the one sleeping sleep was boring. I was never going to fall asleep when I had that weird dream. I might not remember what it was about, with the dream trailing off into the void of my memories, but it still scared the crap out of me. So, deciding that watching him sleep was boring, I decided to walk towards the stairs leading up to where the villa was. It was a few feet from where Kyle and I had taken refuge when the rest of the town was starting to lock up for the night. The streets were quiet and empty, so I was able to walk freely towards the stairs. More specifically, the fountain at the center and the symbol it had.

Coming towards the fountain, I stopped right in front of it. We had passed this during our sightseeing earlier. I thought nothing of it when we passed it, but the symbol there repeated in my mind even now. I stared directly at the large, strange symbol staring me in the face. It was a stylized A, just like the one I saw in the antique store sign. Now that I can see it more closely it wouldn't look like an A. To anyone it would look similar to an arrow. I don't know why I thought it looked like an A. It didn't have the slash across to make it an A. Still...There was something about this A, with its extended arms like it was going to hug someone, that made me think I've seen it before. But, where? It was the strangest symbol I've ever seen. I know I would've seen it before if I had seen it. Then, why was this symbol bothering me so much?

I reached over to caress the metal symbol when I heard a _thump_-like sound behind me. Jumping, I looked over my shoulder. Behind me in the street was a man. From what I could tell in the lights dotting through the street lanterns he had short dark hair and wore a white hoodie and jeans. He was crouching in the street, but he straightened up and brushed off his arms (where the sleeves were pushed up and-was that a tattoo on his left forearm?). He wasn't looking directly at me until he started walking towards the stairs. He lifted his head. We both froze. Him, probably because he saw me; me, because his eyes...They were the same shade as Connor's. The same light brown that almost looked amber. There was also a scar on the right side of his lips that was nearly identical to Ezio's.

We stared at one another for what felt like an eternity. Finally, it was the man who moved. He raised his hand while giving me a weak smile.

"Um, hi there," he greeted, lamely.

I remembered how to breathe and move by this point and I hesitantly said back, "Hi..."

Yeah, not my friendliest gesture.

An awkward silence reigned. I wasn't exactly sure what to say in the face of a stranger who randomly appeared in the middle of the street in the middle of the night. High school hasn't taught me how to greet people like this. Real life hasn't me this, either. I would've walked away by now, but because of the same features as both Ezio and Connor I was feeling a bit curious. I mean, it's not everyday I meet men who, for some reason, like wearing white. Well, I hope not. Last week I met Ezio, a few hours ago, I saw a man in white kill Red coat soldiers, and now this guy. Speaking of which...

"I like your hoodie," I blurted out. The moment it left my lips I flushed. "I-I mean, it's really nice. Very white. Designs pretty cool. Where'd you get it?"

The man stared at me with a raised eyebrow and lips twitching upwards. Then, his shoulders started to shake and he started laughing. His laughing made me feel like I was burning alive from the inside out. Oh, God. 'I like your hoodie?' What kind of idiot says that? Apparently, me. He shook his head at me.

"S-Sorry. I couldn't help it," he apologized, grinning. "That had to be the lamest first thing to say to someone. You say that to everyone you meet?"

"No!" I cried, indignantly. I wanted to cover up my face and just die where I stood. How embarrassing! As it was I covered my mouth with my hand in case I said something else stupid again. I didn't trust myself to say anything.

"Hey, it's cool. I'm not making fun of you," he reassured me, seeing me clam up. He tilted his head at me. "You're not...from around here, are you?"

I slowly shook my head.

"I know this might sound weird, but would you mind talking to me for a bit?" He scratched the back of his head, embarrassed as I was. "I'm not from around here either and I've been cooped up for a long time. Would you mind just keeping me company before I have to go back to the place I'm staying?"

I considered this for a moment. Here was this strange man who was an American and he was asking me in the middle of the night to _talk_ to him. What was I supposed to say to that? I may have been meeting a lot of strangers lately, but most had good intentions. There would be that single one in a dozen person who had less than good intentions towards me. But...There was something about this man that told me he was safe. Was it because he looked a bit like Ezio? Whatever it was I felt I could trust this man. After a bit of consideration, I nodded.

The man was visibly relieved. He approached me and held out his right hand for me to shake.

"Desmond Miles," he said.

I shook his hand once. "Lettie...Vinova."

"Well, pleasure to meet you, Lettie. Is that short for anything?" he asked, walking over to one of the stair steps to sit on it. I followed his example, taking a seat next to him.

"Arlette." He gave me an 'Are you kidding me?' look. "Yeah, I know. Not your common name."

"I'll say. I thought my name was bad."

"Hm."

An awkward silence reigned again. I wasn't sure what kind of topic to engage in with a strange man wanting company. He obviously wasn't sure what to say either, looking incredibly uncomfortable. I shivered, realizing I still had my hoodie wrapped around my waist. I took it off to slip it back on. Desmond was the first to speak after I was comfortable back in my hoodie.

"So," he started, rubbing his left wrist with his right hand uncomfortably, "what's a girl like you doing in this place? You don't look much like a tourist."

"I should be asking you the same thing," I retorted, my lips twitching up. "With your American-ness I doubt you've traveled outside the US before."

"American-ness?"

"Ya know, the hoodie, eagle graphic tee, the tattoo on your arm, which is pretty awesome, by the way, and the way you hold yourself. All of it's so _American."_

"Hey, what about you?" he protested, though by the smile he wasn't offended. He waved to my ruffled appearance from my messy hair to the dirt and mud clinging to my clothes everywhere. "You look like shit. What, did you decide to go backpacking across Europe as soon as you left school?"

"You think I could afford that in this economy? I'd be broke by the time I get to France!"

"There's more than one way to earn money that doesn't involve a job."

"Oh, like you'd know?"

"I'm a surprising guy. I know how to do a lot of things," he suggested, smug about his so-called talents. If he had any.

I laughed. "Yeah, sure you do. So, I'm guessing your repitoire of skills led you to the sleepy town of Monterrigioni?"

"In a way."

"Ooh, that sounds vague. Are you some kind of super secret agent or something? I bet that's why you're here in such a boring town!" I gasped, dramatically. Different tales and facts filled my mind that came from reading way too many fiction novels. I felt like joking around. "There's some kind of secret hidden in this town, isn't there? Or maybe you're on the run from the American government and you're hiding here so they'll never find you!"

"Has anyone ever told you you have a weird imagination?" Desmond asked, amused at my attempts to guess why he was here.

"I dunno. It isn't considered imagination if you're not denying it," I replied back with a teasing smile.

Desmond gave a long, dramatic sigh. "Alright, you got me. I'm a part of an organization that's trying to keep the free world out from the hands of a large corporation that wants to control it. They captured me a few weeks ago and forced me to relive my ancestor's memories using a machine of their own design to find objects that would brainwash the world. I escaped, so now I'm hiding with four other people to find one of the objects and try to save the free world. Happy?"

"And I'm the one with the imagination?" I snickered. That sounds like some plot for a movie. Like we're advanced enough to have the technology to brainwash the world or to relive our ancestors' memories through genetics. That would seriously sell as a screenplay if it was made into a movie.

He laughed along with me. It sounded a bit fake in my ears. Maybe I was just imagining it? He jabbed a finger at me. "What about you? You still didn't say why you're here."

"Me? Well, I'm from the year 2010 and my brother and I traveled to the American Revolution for a school term paper he's writing," I said, jokingly. I tried to make it seem that way. I was fine saying all this since it's not like he'd believe such a crazy story. His was crazy, too, so I tried to match it. "After I almost became a prisoner of war during the Batlle of Lexington and Concord, my brother brought us to 2012 to take a break and have authentic homemade gelato in Monterrigioni, Italy. He decided on this place since we first traveled back to Renaissance Italy and met a guy whose family owned this villa during that era. We're taking a break in the modern times. That good enough of a reason?"

"Hm, not really," he said, making a show out of thinking it through. "I think my reason's better. If you could travel through time, why gelato in 2012? If it were me, I'd go for pizza or cheeseburgers when it was invented."

"I've always wanted to try gelato. Plus, it's a waste traveling through time to try something you could get down the street."

"So says the one using time travel for school."

"Touché, Mr. Miles. Touché," I giggled.

We both started to laugh at the ridiculousness of our stories. Time travelers and super secret organizations? People would think we were crackpots. Good thing only one of our stories were true. At least, I hope Desmond's wasn't. For once, since this trip started, I felt more calm sitting there talking to Desmond than I was running through strange historic cities where skyscrapers didn't exist yet. It was like I really _was_ a tourist in Monterrigioni and not a traveler through time. I didn't have to worry about getting killed or changing the way I knew history. I was a modern teenaged girl on vacation talking to a much older American tourist.

If only that were true.

Desmond and I sat there for awhile, both of us more comfortable talking about everything and anything that came to mind. He told me he was a bartender, which he learned how to do when he was seventeen. I told him I wanted to go into publishing so I could do some cover art for books and such. We also talked about things that didn't matter like whether blueberries were really blue or if Abstergo, the world's number one leading pharmaceutical (as far as I knew) company, was destorying the environment like many eco-terrorists have been ranting across the world. It was nice talking to someone that wasn't Kyle. As much as I love him I couldn't stand his presence sometimes. Too much of his nuttiness about history got in the way. Even though he was way older than me, Desmond was an okay guy.

I was telling Desmond I wanted a tattoo like him but I was afraid of needles when we heard a beeping noise. It came from Desmond. More specifically, his Bluetooth earpiece. He pressed a button on it, mouthing, _Sorry, _to me.

"Yeah?" he greeted. There was a pause and he scowled. "Don't worry. I'm fine. I'm talking to a...friend. Yeah, I'll head back now. Jesus, don't get your knickers in a twist or whatever the hell you people over there say. Whatever. Bye."

"Let me guess. You're supposed to head back before someone from that evil corporation spots you?" I asked, still playing along to his story.

Desmond rolled his eyes. "My friends are being paranoid. They act worse than my parents when I was still a kid."

"Overbearing parents?"

"More like strict. It was always, 'Desmond, do this! Desmond, don't slack off!' I'd get grounded if I so much as put one toe out of line."

"Yikes. My mom's like that sometimes." I cringed. Mom was the strict parent between Mom and Dad. Dad was the laidback type who told us to stay out of trouble and try not to get pregnant/get someone else pregnant before we finish school. With Mom she made sure to call us every hour on the dot and would pick us up from anywhere so we wouldn't walk home through the dark. With an even stricter curfew (be home before midnight? Yeah, right!) being a teenager was a nightmare around her. It was like she was afraid we'd get snatched in the middle of the day when we stayed in the much more public places with our friends.

He sighed, running a hand through his hair and stood up. "Well, I guess I'd better get going now."

I nodded, standing up myself.

"I should be going now, too. It's pretty late."

"Yeah. It was nice meeting you, Lettie."

"Nice meeting you, too, Desmond."

Desmond began to walk up the stairs as I began to walk down it. However, he paused at the top.

"Hey, Lettie?" he called. I turned at the sound of my name to glance up at him. "If some weird shit like, let's say, getting stuck in the past, happened to you, and you lived through the years and made a new life for yourself before you got back to your own time. Would you regret it?"

That was an odd question. I took a second to think before I answered. It was one I worried about constantly since this started.

"I'm not sure," I answered honestly. "I would probably be scared at first if I got stuck in the past. But, if I made a new life for myself, that would entirely depend on how I spent it. Did I change at all? Did I meet people I treasured? If I did, no. I don't think I would regret it. I think I would regret leaving them all behind more than I regretted being stuck in the past in the first place. Why do you ask?"

He shrugged nonchalantly. "Just asking. You said you traveled through time and I couldn't help but wonder."

"You know I was kidding about traveling through time, right?" I lied with a smile. I turned to walk away when he continued speaking.

"Like I said, I was just wondering. But, still...Make sure you know what you're doing, alright? Don't make decisions that you'll regret for a long time. There might be people you meet and it'll be all fucked up if you do something you regret."

_What?_

Gasping, I spun around to ask Desmond what the hell he meant. But, he was gone. I covered my mouth, eyes wide. Desmond acted like he knew what I was talking about. Like he knew my story was true. I don't understand. He acted like he knew the story was true with what he last said! How did he know? We were just joking around, right? But, it sounded kind of vague, too. Was I just going crazy and thought he was talking about my trip through time? Or am I being paranoid?

"Lettie!" called Kyle. He wandered out from behind the wall, rubbing his eye. "There you are. Were you talking to someone? I thought I heard voices."

"No. Just me," I said, eying the metal symbol on the wall of the stairs. I turned away from it. Suddenly looking at it made me feel uneasy. "Come on. We've had enough of a break. Let's get back to the Revolution."

"Alright."

Kyle took out the hourglass and I took out my key. In the middle of the street with no one in sight I twisted the key inside and we vanished from the year 2012 without so much of a trace.

* * *

**I know it's only been four days since I last updated but I was feeling generous. I just finished my film test earlier and I'm feeling good about it. I already finished this up so I figured why not? Yay, early updating! So, our heroes took a break in the hometown of the Auditores in modern day Italy and Lettie got to meet not one but TWO assassins of the modern age! There were people saying, "Wow, I wonder how Desmond and co. would react to seeing Lettie and Kyle in Ezio's memories?" Well, here's your answer...kind of. I'm pretty sure most of you would get it since they're in the year 2012 (it seems just like yesterday it was really 2012 except we all didn't get blown to ashes by the sun) and messing with time. Yeah, I took liberties with the whole time travel thing. It would get to explain a lot since most of my theories of time travel are off of Doctor Who, one of THE most complicated time travel shows what with plot twists and characters that you see how they came to be in much later episodes. My cousin had no idea about what happened to River Song until I showed him. So, yeah. The Doctor is being very helpful to how I'm pulling this off. Maybe.**

**Up next I'm not entirely sure what's going to happen. It might be the witnessing of Washington given command of the Continental Army and something. I'm a bit torn between skipping the Battle of Bunker Hill and getting straight to Connor's execution (since technically, it's a part of their history). The Battle of Bunker Hill lasts for two days of battle and it doesn't seem that relevant to Lettie and Kyle. What do you guys think? Skip Bunker Hill or not? Bleh, I really need someone to help me with ideas.**

**Anyway, please review!**


	7. Executions

Chapter 7

If someone told me two weeks ago I would be traveling through time, I would have thought them crazy. If that someone then told me I would be seeing most of the country's founding fathers, I would also think they were high and that they should go into rehab. As it was I was in the year 1775, leaning against the outside wall of the meeting house where the Second Continental Congress was taking place in Philidelphia, Pennsylvania. Kyle and I weren't able to get into the meeting ourselves seeing as how we were but observers. That didn't stop Kyle from finding the window to the room where the meeting was being held. The hot June sun streamed down on us and I tried to take refuge under the shadow the meeting house was creating. It wasn't as hot as Italy, but it was moderatley hot.

Kyle stood on his toes, looking inside with gleaming eyes. How he could be excited about some boring meeting, I'll never understand.

"Wow. I can't believe I'm seeing the Continetal Congress happening," he said, awestruck. "I wish we were inside. I want to hear the speech Washington is going to make when he becomes commander of the Continental Army."

"Kyle, it's a speech. In fact it's a boring old meeting between some old guys. Why is this exciting?" I panted, brushing my sweating bangs away from my prespiring forehead.

He gasped dramatically like I said that the Hostess company was declaring bankruptcy and going out of business. The boy loved his Twinkies, that's for sure. "Don't call it a boring meeting! Don't you realize how important the Continetal Congress is?"

"Enlighten me."

"The Continental Congress comprises of several delegates representing each of the thirteen colonies, excluding Georgia. Why Georiga wasn't a part of this, I don't know," he explained with a shrug. "The First Continental Congress meeting was made in response to the Intolerable Acts the British Parliament created where they blamed and punished Boston for the Boston Tea Party. During the first meeting, they decided to boycott British goods and made it so they didn't trade with them until they repealed the Intolerable Acts. When that didn't happen they held the Second Continental Congress to try and decide what to do. Since the Battle of Lexington and Concord, they've tried to rebel like seizing arsenals and trying to drive out the British through an unorganized manner. Eventually, when they met they decided to make a Continental Army and appointed George Washington as its commander. Next month they're going to make a Declaration of Causes to explain to the British why they've decided to rebel and in July they'll send an Olive Branch Peitition as a last reconciliation to the them. Of course it didn't happen, so that's why the Patriots fought."

"Are you telling me the British were too stubborn to accept their apology and they went to war?" I asked in disbelief. I always thought we were the ones who rebelled and war happened.

"Basically. Some of the delegates didn't want to go to war with Great Britian. Because the King didn't accept the peition, they were forced to go to war."

"Unbelievable. It's like two brothers who are fighting and the older one doesn't want to let younger one apologize for destorying their new phone."

"That's history for ya. You know there were some girls in my class who compared the two countries as brothers?" Kyle suddenly said. "They started calling them brothers and how mean England was, or something. They got the idea from some anime show they watched."

"Weird."

"Yup. Anyway, during these meetings they also decided to start printing money in order to fund for the war. They had to get most of their supplies from the colonies in order to fund this war and of course that didn't happen."

"No, duh. Who would fund a war they were forced into? It's bad enough most of the colonies consist of farmers and peasants," I mentioned.

"Yeah. Well, we're not really going to see these guys decide that. I don't want to bore you to death with watching old men squabble over what to do. That's my job." He smirked, smug. "You're really lucky to have me for a brother. You wouldn't have passed any history classes otherwise."

"Yeah, yeah. You're really a gift from the gods," I remarked, sarcastically. "Are we finished here yet?" "Almost. Want to see some of the founding fathers? I think I saw Samuel Adams in there."

I shrugged. Why not? I've already met Samuel Adams. I might as well as see who else could be here?

Kyle moved aside to let me take his place. I peered over the window, standing on the tips of my toes while taking care to avoide being seen. The room the Continental Congress was taking place was dark, lit by several candles for some semblance of light. Men in cordial breeches and coats sat around the room where a few were writing with quills on old fashioned parchment with inkpots. I snickered at the ones wearing powered white wigs. Those had to be itchy in this heat. The seats they were in were arranged in a U shape to see the front of the room like in a classroom. They were listening to a man in front of the room giving a speech. A familiar older man was thanking everyone for the honor of being appointed the Commander in chief of the Continental Army.

"No way. Is that George Washington?" I asked Kyle in disbelief.

He grinned and nodded. "Yup! You're looking at the first Preisdent of the United States of America."

I couldn't believe it. There wasn't a single American in our time who didn't know who George Washington was. He was on our money, after all. The man I was seeing looked remarkably like the man I've seen several pictures and portraits of like the one where he was crossing the icy Delaware in a row boat. The artists who did them really captured his image well. I recognized him almost instantly with his white hair and army attire.

I looked around the room again. Off to the side I noticed yet another familiar man off to the very back of the room. My eyes widened at his unkept appearance that looked almost scruffy in nature. It was the guy...The one who made that first shot that caused the Boston Massacre! What was he doing there?

"Hey, who's that guy in the back?" I asked.

Kyle peered into the room next to him, straining his head to see who I meant. I pointed the man out for him.

"Him? I think that's Charles Lee," he answered. "Charles Lee is the one I'm sure you wouldn't recognized. He isn't mentioned much in our classes."

"Who is he?"

"He's a general in the Continental Army. A lot of people consider him the second in command of the army, but that position was officially held by Artemas Ward. He thought he was going to be the commander of the army instead of Washington, but as you can tell by his appearance he wasn't considered the best though his experience in the army far outweigh Washington's record. Near the end of the war he was court martialed for insubordination during a battle. He called retreat when they were supposed to advance. The guy was pretty bitter towards Washington for getting the position he deserved."

I grimaced. That guy almost became the commander of the army instead of Washingon? Yikes, I wouldn't want to think what this guy would have done. It was bad enough I saw him almost singlehandedly cause the Boston Massacre. Why did he do that? Because of that, he started the chain of events that led to this war. What could Charles Lee gain out of such an act? I'm glad Washington is the one in charge. I didn't like Charles Lee.

Turning away from Charles Lee, I noticed in the tables in front of him was Samuel Adams. Huh. So he is here. When I sweeped my eyes to Sam's right I locked gazes with another's. I froze, staring into intense and familiar brown amber eyes. Eyes that displayed open surprise and disbelief.

I quickly ducked back down and started to walk away from the state house, ignoring Kyle asking me where I was going. I had to get out of there. My heart started beating rapidly against my ribcage. I had to get out.

Connor...That was Connor. I'm sure of it. I could recognize those eyes anywhere. What was Connor doing there? In fact why have I been seeing him at every event we've been to already? He was the man in white I saw save Kyle during the Tea Party, the one who had appeared a minute before the shooting in Lexington occured. Connor may have gained muscle and had longer hair, but I could still recognize the boy I first met in 1770. Yet, he wore the clothes of the man involved in the war. Did that mean he was a part of the Continental Army? Was he a soldier?

The thought made me sick. He may wear clothes reminiscent of the average army uniform, but I couldn't stop thinking of the boy I met. The young fourteen year old whose eyes were amazed by the city for the first time. I couldn't think of him any other way. To me he will always be that boy who visited Boston for the first time that day. He may be a soldier, a man, now, but he wouldn't stop being that boy. The very thought of that boy lying in the dirt, motionless, with his blood pooling around him while his comrades met similiar fates made me ill. The very image made me want to cry. He was too young to lose his life. I could tell from the moment I met him Connor was going to do great things. I just knew it. That's why I couldn't stand to see him fight in this war.

I wished I hadn't met him back then. I'm getting too attached to someone who will be dead long before I was born.

"Lettie, is something wrong?" Kyle asked, touching my shoulder to get me to stop. We were in the market streets now, people walking by us without a care for others to do their own routines. He frowned. "You looked freaked out. Like you saw a ghost or something."

"No, I'm fine." I couldn't tell Kyle I saw Connor here. He didn't know I met him at all. I was going to keep it that way. I took a deep breath to calm myself and smiled cheerily. "So what's next? We don't need to see the rest of the meeting, do we?"

He hesitated to reply upon seeing how I went from scared to cheery. Obviously, he knew something was wrong with me. Kyle might be a bit of an airhead, but he knew me. He would know something was bothering me. I hope he wouldn't pry. Fortunately, he didn't.

"Uh, no. I guess not. The main purpose of the meeting was to appoint a commander."

"Great! So, what next?" I asked, turning down an alley way unpopulated at the moment. The dark alley was a shield from the unforgiving blazing sun. Kyle followed closely behind.

"The Battle of Bunker Hill would be next." He took out the hourglass and held it out to me. He faltered when he saw me shooting him a dark look. "What's wrong?"

"No battles."

"Say what?"

"I draw the lines at any more battles," I elaborated. "I'm not risking my life to get caught up in a battle that will probably be worse than the skirmish in Lexington."

"Oh, come on! It's not as bad!"

"What happens in the battle?"

Kyle glanced to the side, muttering something.

"What was that?" I ordered, waiting impatiently for his answer.

He cleared his throat and answered, embarrassed, "The Battle of Bunker Hill, often called the Battle of Breed's Hill, was the British's attempt to seize Boston. Basically, the village located near Breed's Hill, Charlestown, was shot at with cannonballs by the British ships near the bay and...a lot of people died."

"Even worse than Lexington and Concord?"

"Even worse than Lexington and Concord," he reluctantly agreed. "There were a lot of casualties, mostly for the British and they were the ones who won that battle. A lot of people died that day."

"And you want to go look at that?" No way. I wasn't going to risk my life to observe a battle where cannonballs were shooting at a town and there were soldiers everywhere. I liked living, thanks.

Kyle sighed heavily. "Fine, fine. I get it. No repeat of the Battle of Lexington. We'll just skip it and go to an execution and the attempted assassination on General Washigton."

I frowned. Oh, I remember learning about that one in school. A lot of people in my class were shocked when they learned someone tried to kill Washington in the middle of a hanging he attended. Ironically enough, the man being hung was the one who also saved Washington's life.

"Wasn't that the execution of the man discovered with a plan to assassinate Washington?" I asked, just in case I forgot some details. Which I most likely did.

"Yeah, planning. I think someone else tried to kill George Washington," he said. "The man being executed was discovered to have been a part of a plot to assassinate George Washington. The thing is someone saved the guy's life and the patriots tried to get the guy who saved him. In the chaos another man tried to kill Washington during the confusion. The man on death row killed the one trying to kill Washington before he had the chance."

"What was the name of man trying to kill Washington?"

"Thomas Hickey, or something." He smiled when I ended up giggling at the last name. "I know, right? What kind of last name is Hickey?"

"The guy was probably the one who came up with the concept of hickies." Seriously, what kind of name was that? "Then, the execution is our next event?"

"Yup! This one is less dangerous than any battle."

"Good." I took the hourglass and did my thing of turning the hourglass. I had a feeling this execution was going to be horrible to watch, no doubt, but I also had this weird bubbling in my stomach that told me something was going to happen. What, I didn't know. I'm sure I'll find out soon enough.

* * *

The city of New York was much different than that of its modern counterpart. It was ridiculously smaller than what I was used to seeing in TV shows and news programs. There was no sign of the ever famous skyscrapers the city was known for, nor were there any concrete streets. Instead, the buildings were much smaller where a part of the city would burned in some fire, leaving blackened skeletons of what used to be. From what Kyle told me that wouldn't happen until September. We found wide open streets with markets and people walking on foot everywhere. Okay, maybe that hasn't changed over the years, but the fact that there were horses and carts going up and down the streets was definitely different.

We appeared in yet another small alleyway where we could hear the cheering and chatter of a crowd gathered in one place. I walked out from behind the stack of crates we appeared behind to look out the mouth. In front of me was a square full of people all in different classes by the state of their dress. They stood in front of a platform where the gallows were set for everyone to see.

"That," I said, seeing how families were gathered on carts to see better, "is barbaric. And really messed up."

Kyle frowned at the families and people acting merrily, drinking from flasks and gossiping.

"I agree. That is pretty messed up. I know watching someone hang is their entertainment, but it's still wrong," he said.

"Do they not have anything better to do than watch a man dangle from a rope?"

"I guess not. Like I said, people think of this like their TV show of this day. Most of them can't read, so they have to make do with seeing a public execution."

"Which is completely why I hate the death penalty." It wasn't something I agreed with entirely. I know there are some people in the world who don't deserve to live, but it's so much easier to kill someone than keeping them alive. Sometimes, I hated being human. We don't have the right to decide who lives or dies like God. It wasn't right.

"But, the guy on execution was the one they found planning to kill Washington. Doesn't he deserve to die? Washington is the people's hope. Without him this war wouldn't end well."

"I know that, but..." I trailed off. I really didn't want to talk about this right now. I've seen too much death in the last few hours than I've seen in my entire life. Death was inevitable, but I didn't want to think about it. I didn't want to know how many people died each day. I didn't want to know some choose to end their lives or someone else ends it for them. Lives were precious; death was ever present. That's why I want to live my life while I can and live it for the people who lost their's. Just so I feel a little better about myself. I shook my head. "Um, want to go pick a spot where we can see the execution?"

Kyle studied me for a second before laying a hand on my shoulder. "Lettie, are you sure you want to watch this?" he asked, worried.

No, I wasn't sure. I wasn't sure if I wanted to see someone die right in front of me while people watched on. But, I knew no one would die today. There wasn't going to be a body dangling from a rope while people roared at his death. It's why I agreed to not skip this.

"Yeah. I'll be fine."

"If you're sure. It's fine if you don't want to. We can leave whenever you want," he urged. He probably didn't want to scar me any further. That was really sweet of him.

"No, I'll watch. I'll be fine," I repeated, flashing him a smile.

Kyle nodded, but the slight twitch of his lip downward told me he wasn't entirely sure I would be fine. I knew I would be.

We walked out of the alleyway to go join the people out in the square. Kyle grabbed the back of my hoodie, urging me towards the direction of the gallows. I weaved through the exuberent crowd crying for the blood of a single man. I pushed myself to the front of the crowd near the gallows. With Kyle's hand clutching at the back of my sweater I wasn't too worried about where he could be. I made it to the front with little trouble and had a perfect view of where the prisoner would take his last walk. Just like the rest of the crowd I wondered who was the man who planned on killing George Washington. We never learned who was the man that planned to assassinate George Washington, only knowing he actually tried to save his life.

Pretty soon the roar of the crowd increased as a man began to walk down the lined path. He was being escorted by a man wearing a trifold hat. I couldn't believe how bloodthirsty the crowd was for this single man's blood as they called him a savage and other derogating terms. It disgusted me how cruel humanity could be. I stood on the top of my toes to get a better look at the man. As he began to walk closer to where I was standing I felt all the blood leave my face to feel the summer rain pelting against me.

The man being escorted was dressed in torn and bloodied clothes he most likely wore in prison. His skin was dark like he spent a lot of time in the sun with hair tied back with a few beads added to a few locks. He held his head down, but that was enough to let me see his bloodied face and those recognizable brown eyes. No, it couldn't be...

I watched, dazed, as the man was punched by a woman in the crowd. He fell, but was forced back on his feet. He continued walking, and as he passed in front of me all thoughts of doubt fled my mind. There was no doubt about it. That man was him.

Connor...The native boy who dragged me across Boston to avoid prosecution all those years ago. For him it was that long ago; for me it was a few hours ago. I swallowed heavily. This wasn't possible. How could that same boy be the one who wanted to kill George Washington? I thought he was a soldier in the Continental Army? Why would he be the one about to be executed? He obviously had no problem killing, yet he seemed the type with a good sense of right and wrong. How could he even think of killing the Commander -in- chief?

No. He's the one who saves Washington's life today, I reminded myself. Connor was the one who saved Washington from being killed by Thomas Hickey. That calmed my doubts about Connor. Connor was a good man. He wouldn't do something like that.

My eyes followed his back as he stepped onto the stage with a head held high to stand near yet another man who was familiar.

"Charles Lee? What's that guy doing here?" I hissed.

"He's a major general. Why wouldn't he be here?" Kyle asked as if that explained everything.

And it did. After seeing Charles Lee fire a shot that started the Boston Massacre, I found I didn't trust what history told us. Lee was obviously in the army for his own personal gain. I could just tell. If he was the one who was prosecuting Connor, who he obviously knew from that leer way back when, then this whole thing was a hoax. Connor had to be innocent, or that's what I believed. It's what I wanted to believe.

"Brothers, sisters. Fellow Patriots," Lee began, projecting his voice across the square. "Several days ago we learned of a scheme so vile, so dastardly that repeating it now disturbs my being. The man before you plotted to murder our beloved General."

The crowd gasped and booed. Kyle did also until I elbowed him in the gut. Lee smiled at the response aand was playing it up.

"Indeed. What darkness or madness moved him, none can say. And he himself offers no defense. Shows no remorse. And though we begged and pleaded with him to share what he knows, he maintains a deadly silence." I made a face. They probably didn't even give Connor a chance to speak. Lee placed a burlap sack over Connor's head as the noose was already around his neck. "If the man will not explain himself if he will not confess and atone what other option do we have, but this? He sought to send us into the arms of the enemy. And thus, we are compelled by justice to send him from this world. May God have mercy on your soul."

Lee pulled the trapdoor lever.

I resisted urge to scream as Connor's body dropped. Oh, God! I couldn't watch this! It was like a  
horror movie where I wanted to look about, but I wanted to see what happens next. I was about to  
cover my eyes from the sight of a dangling body when I heard a bird cry from above. Suddenly, out of nowhere, an arrow from nowhere and a knife from the crowd shot towards the deadly rope that was to be the death of Connor to pierce right through it. His body fell to the stage below and, as before, all Hell broke loose.

Guards swooped in from open alleyways. Anyone smart enough had the sense to run far, far away from the scene to ensure their lives. Following my instincts, I proceeded to drag Kyle away from the scene despite his protests of staying to help. Since the Lexington and Concord battles he got it through his head he was invincable. Oh, yeah. A couple sniper shots and he was suddenly Batman. Kyle wouldn't last two seconds in a street brawl.

I almost made it to an alleyway when Kyle suddenly let go of my sweater followed by an indignant cry. I skidded to a halt and twisted around to see Kyle sprawled on the ground. Someone bowled him over.

"What the hell are you doing? We need to get out of here!" I yelled. I reached down to yank Kyle back up to his feet by his arm.

"Like I did that on purpose!" he retorted. He brushed off the front of his shirt. I grabbed his sleeve and dragged him into another alleyway that was guard free. Hopefully, no one would be able to see us.

I shoved him against a wall to make sure we were both out of sight. Although I wanted to get out of there, I wanted to see what happened next. If Connor truly was the man being executed, then he was

also the one who saved Washington's life. Peering around the corner of the alley, I looked towards the back of the square where I was sure Washington was watching the execution. Through the multiple guards grabbing citizens to see if they were the one who threw the knife that saved Connor, I finally spotted Connor running across the square, charging towards another man wearing a tricorne hat carrying a musket. The man was making his way towards Washington and his guards. The man raised the weapon to bring it down on the guards, who were flustered from the chaos and confusion, but in what I think was the coolest thing ever Connor practically lunged at the man with a hatchet in hand. He struck the hatchet into the man's back as he tackled him to the ground.

"Holy shit," Kyle breathed beside me where he looked over my shoulder to witness what happened. His jaw was dropped in disbelief. "That was awesome! The guy's a total monster!"

It was pretty awesome. Connor was like a wolf hunting for its fleeing prey. Yet another reason why Native Americans were awesome in almost all aspects.

Connor hovered over the man, seeming to demand something of him. What, I couldn't tell. When I saw the number of guards rushing to surround Connor I knew it was time to leave. I didn't want to be caught up in this mess.

"Gimme the hourglass. We're getting out of here before things get ugly," I said to Kyle. I held out my hand for it.

Kyle nodded and reached to his side. He suddenly froze, his eyes growing wide in horror. He looked down at his side and started rummaging through his pockets frantically. It was unsettling to see him so panicked.

"Oh, fuck. Oh, fuck, fuck," he gasped, turning out his pockets and patting himself down. Then, he looked around the square.

"Kyle," I said. A rising fear and panic surged through me. In a voice that Kyle later told me was like a demon speaking to him, I asked, "Where is the hourglass?"

He winced, finally turning to me to see my neutral expression.

"I, uh...don't know," he squeaked at the end.

"What do you mean you don't know?"

"I don't know. It's gone. I think I lost it when someone knocked me over."

"...What?"

* * *

**Yay! We're moving into the part of the story I'm super excited to start writing! They've lost the hourglass during Connor's execution. Oh, no! What's going to happen next? So, comments about this event: Hm, it was pretty fun but pretty hard. In this part of the game I had a hell of a time trying to get all the sub-objectives. Me and my brother each took a turn to try to get to Hickey before he got to the guards in time while killing two bluecoats at the same time. It was only until after we had a lunch break I was able to do it. So, yeah. Really hard. Not to mention what Haytham did during this event. I made a slight reference to it in this chapter. Hope you can find it!**

**On a side note, OH, MY GEE! (Sorry, Filipino inside joke :P) The first part of The Tyranny of George Washington came out! I downloaded it as soon as I finished my college class this morning. It was, in a word, epic. I got confused at the beginning and it made no sense, but damn, Connor! Going around bare-chested in the middle of winter! Boy's got guts, I'll give him that. He looks good in his Assassin robes, but dang, his Mohawk warrior clothes! His abilities are pretty awesome, too, but the mission where he got it gave me a headache. Gah, too much white background. I finished the main events, but I should get around to completely the side missions before the second episode comes out next month. It's too much fun. Well, except for the insane amount of Bluecoats (Patriots) in the game. And here I thought the Redcoats were annoying.**

**Anyway, that's it for now. Lettie and Kyle are getting to the fun parts of the story I'm sure a lot of people want to see. Give me any ideas of what you want to see of their normal life during the Revolution outside of the main missions. I'm always up for suggestions. Oh, and I don't know if anyone would get the 'acting like brothers fighting' reference. Just thought it would be fun. Until next time!**

**Please review!**


	8. Explainations

Chapter 8

The words repeated in my head.

_It's gone._

_It's gone._

_I think I lost it..._

The panic and fear finally reached its breaking point. My panic quickly turned to anger.

"YOU WHAT?!" I yelled. I grabbed the front of Kyle's shirt to bring him towards my face. He cowered. I might be smaller, but I was also scarier when angered. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU LOST THE HOURGLASS?! THAT'S OUR ONLY WAY HOME!"

"I-I'm sorry! I could've sworn it was at my side before the execution started!" he stuttered. He winced as I hit him upside the head.

"SO YOU'RE TELLING ME IT WAS _STOLEN_?! I TOLD YOU NOT TO PUT IT IN A PLACE WHERE IT COULD GET STOLEN!"

"I'm sorry!"

I threw Kyle away from me in disgust. This was bad. This was really bad. The hourglass was the only way we could get back to our time. It was fine in another person's possession so long as we got it back. The hourglass was useless without the key, which I wore securely around my neck. But we needed to get it back to get to our own time. Who knew what would happen if we got hurt here? Or worse, killed? With the war going on it was likely we would get killed. We were stuck in the past without the hourglass.

I shivered, the realization finally hitting me like a sledgehammer. No, no, no! I didn't want to die in the past! I didn't want to _live_ in the past! I wanted to at least die in the safety of my own home at a ripe old age! I gripped my head between my hands. What were we going to? What could we do? We didn't know anyone here! The whole situation bothered me and I felt tears already lining my eyes. We couldn't be stuck in the past. We just couldn't.

"Excuse me."I looked up from my tears to see Connor standing in front of me. He frowned, his amber eyes studying me as if he was trying to look through my soul. "By any chance is your name Arlette Vinova?"

"Whoa, hold up! What do you with my sis, big guy?" Kyle demanded, placing himself between Connor and me. He folded his arms with a puffed chest to look relatively intimidating in front of this bulk of a man. It was like comparing a mouse to a lion.

"Kyle, stop." I shoved him out of the way. I could fight my own battles. I stepped confidently in front of Connor and managed a watery smile as best as I could considering the situation. "Long time no see, huh? I take it you still remember me?"

"It is hard to forget a woman whom you shared a crime with," Connor said, a smile playing on his lips.

"Wait," said Kyle, glancing between the two. "You know each other? When did you even have the time to know this guy?"

"Boston massacre. I met him when he was fourteen-fifteenish," I explained, wiping my tears away.

"Yet, you remained the same as if we met yesterday," Connor observed. He turned serious once more. "Why have you been appearing where the Patriots and British fight? I saw you at the Boston tea party as well as the Battle of Lexington amongst the crowd and last year during the Continental meeting and yet you appear the same each time."

I winced. So he remembered seeing me during all those times, huh? I was at least hoping he didn't see us at the Battle of Lexington like I saw him.

"It's a long, complicated story," I said.

"Which you shall explain." An old man with chocolate brown skin hobbled over to where we stood. He wore a red vest over a white shirt, which was topped by a tan coat. His face was almost indistinguishable from the old frayed hat he wore on his head, yet I could see the white whiskers on his chin and old wrinkled face that spoke years of stress. He spoke to Connor. "We must head to Philadelphia quickly. These two shall accompany us."

"Why should we go with you, old man?" Kyle asked, defiant for once. I would have been proud if he wasn't so rude. This must be getting to him, too. He finds out I know the guy being executed today and I met him during the Boston Massacre. And I didn't tell him. Of course, he would be a little on edge. Except he didn't need to be.

"Kyle!" I elbowed him again and leaned toward him. "What other choice do we have? It's not like we can stay in some hotel while our only way home is missing."

"But we don't even know these people! What if they decide to kill us and take our stuff? One of them has already been charge for trying to kill Washington!"

"No, Connor's cool! He saved my life during the Massacre."

"That doesn't mean anything!"

"You have the right to be cautious," Connor said aloud. "But, we will not harm you. You have my word."

"Your word doesn't mean-" His sentence ended abruptly as I slapped my hand over his mouth.

"That's fine. We'll tell you our story if you tell us why you're involved in the war," I said. I wasn't about to give our secret away without demanding retribution. I wasn't as air headed as Kyle was. I wanted to know why I kept seeing Connor in each event when I can tell he wasn't a part of the Continental Army. Lee would have at least boasted how he was a traitor to his comrades by giving away Washington's positions.

"We shall see if your story is worth our secret," said the old man. "Now, come. We waste time dawdling here. It's best if we leave before they decide to go through with the execution."

We nodded. We followed the old man with me and Kyle in tow, both of us wondering what was going to happen to us. I could only hope it wouldn't be too bad if something did happen. Then again, I'm usually right about things going wrong.

* * *

Later that night found me and Kyle in the wild frontier, sitting in front of a fire built by Connor. The old man, Achilles, was by the fire cooking the dinner Connor had so graciously hunted early. The carriage me, Kyle, and Achilles rode in was nearby while the horses were asleep for the frontier was really as wild as I imagined it. It was rare for me to ever see a large mass of space where concrete roads didn't exist and there was no such thing as a freeway or a highway. The only source of light we had was the fire. To be honest that made me a little uneasy when we heard the cry or howl of some animal in the woods around us. I didn't feel safe sleeping out in the open.

Kyle and I rode with Achilles in the carriage while Connor drove to head for Philadelphia. Achilles advised us that we shouldn't start explaining ourselves until we stopped for the night. For what reason we didn't know. So the carriage ride all afternoon was silent as Kyle and I had managed to fall asleep from exhaustion. We had gone through most of the events of the Revolution without any rest, not counting the small break in 2012. That wasn't a full night of sleep we need. Plus, long rides made the both of us bored and sleepy. By the time we woke it was already dark and we had stopped.

We were still relatively silent even as we quietly accepted the food Achilles handed us. We all ate in silence, all wandering through thoughts of the latest events. I had to force myself to ignore the still bloody meat I was putting in my mouth. Ugh, gamey. Once we finished eating, I decided it was time to break it. I can't stand it being silent in groups.

"So," I started, my voice breaking through the far off cries of animals around us in the forest. "Should we start explaining ourselves?"

"I believe it's time you did," Achilles started. He put his hands on the cane in front of him despite the fact he was sitting on a log. The rest of us were sitting on the dirt ground.

"Where do we begin?" Kyle asked, running a hand through his hair. We honestly didn't know how to start this complicated story.

"The beginning is always best," Connor offered. I noticed he changed into the white clothes I saw the man back at the Boston Tea Party wore. I knew I recognized him. If I'm being honest, the clothes he was wearing now suited him a lot. I could see a combination of the colonists and his tribe from the design of the jacket to the native touches like the armbands he put on it.

"Alright. Kyle, since this is your fault in the first place, you tell them," I decided.

"What? Why me? How is this my fault?"

"You're the one who not only forced me to go through this, but you lost what we needed to get home with." I gave him a look that said, 'Need I say more?'

"I'm the older one. Why do I get bossed around?" Kyle grumbled to himself. Both Achilles and Connor looked amused by our interaction. He sighed. "Okay. To start off you've probably noticed how Lettie and I have been at most of the war's major events when we haven't aged at all. The reason for this is because we've been using this special device to travel to each of these events."

"How? The events I have seen you at span years in between. I have met Arlette as she is when it has been years since I met her," Connor said, waving at me.

"Here's where things get complicated. The device not only lets us go to place to place, it allows us to travel through time." They stared at him like he spoke a different language in the nude. "You met Lettie, what, six years ago? Why else do you think she looks the same?"

"What you propose is absurd! It is not possible for people to travel through time," Connor denied.

"The idea is preposterous, but not impossible. I've heard of stranger things." Achilles examined the two closely. "Still, do you have proof to your claims? We cannot simply believe that you claim to be from the future so readily."

"Well, I guess I do." I reached behind me for my bag. They stared at my bag strangely and even more so when I unzipped it. I reached inside to pull out the folded piece of parchment within. Unfolding it, I handed Connor his own wanted poster from when he was fourteen. He took it with open surprise. I flushed. "I-I wanted a little souvenir. It was the only thing I could take without ruining the past."

"Hey, that's the wanted poster of that killer during the Boston Massacre," Kyle realized. He gasped. "Holy shit! You _started_ the Boston Massacre? What the hell, man!"

"No, you've got it all wrong! Connor wasn't the one who started it. It was that jerk, Charles Lee. He fired a shot at the sky and everyone panicked. Connor and I saw him do it, right?"

Connor stared at the poster for a moment before he nodded.

"Charles Lee did start the massacre," he confirmed. He handed over the poster back to me. "I do not know how, but I must believe your claims. I know you speak the truth of how you are from the future."

"Are you certain you can trust their story?" Achilles asked him, like he was testing him.

"Although it is absurd, I trust Arlette. She helped me stay calm during the confusion following the Boston Massacre. In such a strange city I did not know what to do but Arlette was as lost and confused as I was. I know she would not lie to me when she is in trouble."

I flushed further as Connor spoke. He trusted me after that? How? Why? We met the one time. How could he trust me even when six years have passed for him? It made me both embarrassed and happy he trust me after that. I ducked my head to look down at my hands in my lap.

"Well...I suppose if you can trust her, I must do the same," Achilles decided. "Now, what is this device you have been using to travel through time?"

"It's a small hourglass," I answered. "We'd show it to you but _someone_ lost it during the execution." I shot a glare at Kyle, who looked away as embarrassed as I was a moment ago. "All we have now is the key that activates the hourglass' powers."

"May I see it?"

I reached under my shirt to unclip the key from my necklace chain. I tossed it over the fire to Achilles. He caught it with ease to examine it. He hummed, allowing the firelight to catch the smooth metal. Even in the dark, it glowed eerily. He passed it to Connor, who examined it as well, his fingers gliding over the metal and the accessories I had added around it.

"Where did you find this key and hourglass?" Achilles questioned.

"In an antique store in our time. Oh, we're from the year 2010, by the way," I added casually. I ignored their bewildered expressions. "We were looking through the store for a birthday gift for our mother when I found it sitting on a shelf. We didn't know it would let us travel through time until we suddenly ended up in Renaissance Italy."

"And Lettie was saved by some hooded stranger from losing her virginity. Speaking of hooded strangers, why do you keep attracting them?" Kyle mentioned. "First that guy in Italy, now some Native guy. What the hell?"

"Hey, Ezio was pretty cute under that hood for an old guy. He also saved my life. When I met Connor he wasn't wearing a hood. He was wearing the clothes from his tribe."

"Did you say Ezio? You mean to tell me you have met Ezio Auditore?" Achilles asked, alarmed.

"If you mean Ezio Auditore da Firenze, yeah. I met him. He carried me through Rome while being chased by a bunch of guards."

"Hold on a sec. How do you know about him? He was from Italy almost three hundred years ago," Kyle questioned, suspicious.

"Like your story, it is complex. Please, finish your tale. If what you say is true, why have you traveled to this time? Why appear at different events during the war?"

"Because my idiot brother wanted to travel to the Revolutionary war to write a stupid report! He wanted to get the real opinion of why the war happened instead of getting it from books!" I growled. "Now look where that's gotten us! We're stuck in the past and could very well get us killed! It was bad enough we had to kill two soldiers to stay alive."

"You know how the war will end?" Connor realized, strangely hopeful.

"Yeah, we know. But we can't tell you anything."

"Why? If we know how the war will end, surely we will know how to plan-"

"Okay, nu-uh. Sorry, but I'm not screwing up history," I adamantly rejected. "It's already dangerous enough we're here. With our knowledge of the future we might screw up history. If the British or anyone else knew what we know, our nation as we know it may cease to exist."

"Many people can die from the battles! With that knowledge we could limit the casualties," Connor argued.

"Connor, I mean it. We can't tell you anything. I'm sorry that a lot of people are dead, but we can't change anything. No matter how many people die we can't change the future." Time travel, as I'm starting to realize, sucked. We couldn't do anything to change the future or past in case we ended up screwing up our own lives. I didn't want to create some kind of paradox by doing something we shouldn't have.

Connor opened his mouth to argue, but with one stern look from Achilles and he backed down. Hm, how did Connor and Achilles know each other, anyway? They certainly weren't family. Now that I think about it I remember Connor was looking for Achilles during the Boston Massacre. Maybe Achilles was his guardian? That seems about right.

"She is correct," Achilles wisely said. "To know of the future is a disaster in the making. It's best if we don't pry into their knowledge of what events happen in the future."

"Besides, I'm not the history nut in the family," I added in. I jerked a thumb at Kyle. "That's more of Kyle's area. He's the one who wanted to go observe the war of this time, so he knows the most about what's going to happen. I didn't even want to travel through time after the Italy fiasco, but he insisted on doing it for school. Which, I'm starting to believe is utter BS. Why would you possibly want to go back to the past when you could have read a freakin' book to get your research?"

"Yeah..." Kyle coughed uncomfortably. "Um, now that we're all sharing secrets, I should probably tell you something."

"What is it?"

"Lettie, I'm really sorry, but I kinda lied when I said I wanted to go to the American Revolution to do research. The truth is...a future version of you told me to do it!"

I stared at him incredulously. "I'm sorry, what? A future version of me _told you_ to go back to the American Revolution? That's the worst excuse I've ever heard."

"But it's the truth! You told me to go to the American Revolution," he explained in haste, guilt lining his words. "A few days after we got back from Italy I was wondering about what other time periods we could visit. While you were gone at school you appeared in my room. A future Lettie. The future Lettie told me I had to go to the American Revolution for something important that would happen. She said our lives depended on it. I didn't understand, but the future Lettie told me it was important we came here. At first I wasn't sure whether or not to believe you. I mean, you say some pretty weird stuff sometimes. But, when I looked at the future you, Lettie, I could tell whatever happened to you changed you for the better."

He smiled in remembrance. "You should've seen yourself. You were full of confidence, holding yourself up like you could take on the world. You didn't look afraid of anything. When she asked me to go to the Revolution with you she didn't look nervous at all asking me. You know how nervous you get asking me for things. She didn't look nervous, so I knew whatever important happened it changed you for the better. So, I agreed to do it. I promised the future Lettie I would take you on this trip. She made me promise I wouldn't say anything about this to you. I had to come up with a lie to get you to go and I came up with the school report. Lettie, I'm really sorry. I didn't know this imoportant thing would be us losing the hourglass and getting stuck here. I'm really sorry. I wanted to stop after you almost got killed, but I had to do it."

Through his explanation, my jaw dropped. A future version of me went back to the past to tell Kyle he had to make us go through the American Revolution? I didn't believe this.

"You're telling me I went back to the past to make you take me on this trip? And you _believed_ me?" I said, incredulously. "What the hell? I can't believe you believed me!"

"Hey, I thought she-you had good intentions!" he said, flushing.

"Haven't you ever heard the saying, 'The road to Hell is paved with good intentions?'"

Achilles let out a harsh bark of bitter laughter. "Truer words if I had heard any."

"How could you have believed me-her?"

"She was pretty convincing. Plus, I know you wouldn't have lied to me about something so important."

"You know how manipulative I can get! Remember when we were fourteen I had you lie to Mom and Dad I went out with friends but really went out to go on a date with that college guy?"

"Don't remind me. When Mom and Dad found out I was grounded for weeks," he groaned. "But, you really did look like you knew what you were doing."

"Did I look like anything else?" I asked.

He thought for a moment. "You looked...older. Not physically older. You looked about the same and tan, but you looked like you aged ten years. You also looked so sad."

"Why would she seem sad?" Connor asked, curious about our talk.

"Anyone would be displeased if they discovered they were trapped in the past," Achilles said, thoughtful.

That might be true, but wouldn't I be more relieved than sad to be back in my own time? If I had told Kyle to take me on this trip, then we must have gotten back the hourglass at some point. So why was I sad? Was it because the years I lost in my life due to being stuck here? That didn't make sense. I would be more happy if I was back in my own time. If she was me, something happened that made me seem more melancholy after this accident.

I scratched my head, growling. What the hell, future me? What was it I was trying to do? "I don't understand. What was I trying to accomplish by trapping us in the past? That don't make sense. I would warn myself to not go through with it if it turned out to be a bad experience."

"I don't know. But, I remember she told me to tell you two something," Kyle said to Achilles and Connor.

They both looked curious about that.

"What did this future Arlette want to tell us?" Connor asked, growing as confused as I was.

"She told me to tell Achilles to tell us about the brotherhood, or something. Oh, and she showed me something that would convince you." He picked up a stick and started to draw something on the dirt next to the fire. To my utter astonishment he drew the strange A symbol I saw back at the Auditore villa. Achilles and Connor looked astonished as well. "The future Lettie said you would know what this symbol was. She said I had to tell you the words, 'Nothing is true.' The funny thing is she wore a bracer on her arm with this same symbol on it."

"Wait, that's the symbol from the Auditore villa," I mentioned, frowning. "I don't get it. What's so important about this symbol, anyway?"

Achilles sighed deeply, his hand going to his forehead. "It seems we have no choice. I would have disregarded your mention of the brotherhood as mere coincidence if you had not said a part of our creed."

"Everything is permitted," Connor muttered, looking into the fire, deep in thought. "The future Arlette told you these words?"

He nodded. "She told me to tell them to a man named Achilles. I thought she was crazy, but, well, I met Achilles. She said it would be important for me to tell you."

"Wait a minute!" I yelled, causing everyone to be silent. Rising panic, fear, and frustration rose up from me the moment Kyle mentioned a future me was involved. "I'm not understanding anything! Why would the future me do this to us? Why wouldn't she tell us that we would get stuck in the past and tell Kyle to show you some symbol I saw from the Auditore village in _Italy?_ Why is that symbol so important that she told Achilles to explain it to us? Explain what?"

"Yes, I think it's time we did explain it to you," Achilles said. "Now that you know much about our Brotherhood and it seems you do as well, we should probably tell you. It is not a coincidence you know much about this information from her. Arlette, Kyle, tell me. What do you two know of the Templars?"

Kyle and I exchanged a confused glance. We seemed to be doing that a lot lately. Being the history nut, Kyle was the first to speak.

"You mean the knights of the Templar order?" he answered, uncertain. "I know they were a part of the Crusades during the Medieval times to conquer land in the name of God. They fought, believing that God would grant them victory. They were defeated by the French and the order broke apart in the 1300s."

"They also had to fight off this Middle Eastern group called the _Hashshashin_ or Assassins who were killing important nobles during the era," I added. "They did things like killing people in the open public, which got them their infamous reputation. The weird thing is they didn't kill any civilians. Something about their creed that said not to touch them. It was originally formed by this guy who wanted told his followers he would lead them to paradise and they listened to him. I think the order fell after the Mongol invasion on their fortress in Syria."

"Are you making this up?" Kyle asked, staring at me in disbelief. I noticed Connor staring at me as well.

"I'm taking a humanities class, remember? So I can transfer from my community college into a university. The assassin order was brought up during one of the lectures and I looked it up." I shrugged.

"The Assassins are the ones I wish to talk to you about," Achilles interjected. "The Order of the Assassins was created in order to combat against the Templars dating far before the Crusades. It wasn't until the Crusades were they able to become a publicly known organization along with the Templar order. They gained their infamous reputation, as Arlette has mentioned, during this time period and was rumored to have fallen after the Mongols invaded their main fortress in Masayaf. However, they did not disappear. To this very day both the Assassins and the Templars still exist."

I bit my lip. Didn't that sound ominous? "When you say still exist..."

"I mean, both orders still live on. The Assassins did not die out nor have the Templars. After the fall of Masayaf, the Assassins were forced to go underground. They had to adapt to the changing times and in order to survive they hid away from the world to work in the shadows. Once the Templars were publicly defeated by the French, they, too, were forced into hiding. The war between the Assassins and the Templars continues today and became a secret-one which no one but a few know of."

"Then, how do you know about it?" Kyle questioned.

"Connor and I are of the Assassin order. We maintain what little peace we can during this war the Templars have selfishly started. Though our order has changed much from the Middle Ages, our ideals and values remain the same. We work in the dark to serve the light. We wish to keep the Templars from stealing the free will given to people despite how recklessly humans use it."

I stopped breathing. Assassins? They were assassins? They still existed?

"Assassins. So you're telling me you're trained to kill the Templar knights, who for some reason want to steal man's free will?" I summarized. I couldn't keep the disbelief from my voice. The new information was making me dizzy trying to wrap my thoughts around it. "You people are insane. That is just so...That can't be true.

"But it is. The reason why you have your free will today is because for centuries the Assassin brotherhood has been fighting to keep it from the hands that will strip it from you."

"That's what I don't understand! Why would the Templars want to strip free will from people? They were fighting for the Holy Land. They can't be evil!"

"They have rewritten history to make people believe they were not evil," Connor explained. "From what I have seen and learned the Templars have a great influence over the world. Just as we are able to know everything so do they. They used their influence to ensure their cause was just rather than for their own needs. The truth about them was lost as time passed."

"You still haven't answered my question. Why do the Templars want to strip free will?"

"The Templars seek to create a perfect world. They believe that through purpose and order they can achieve this," Achilles answered for him. "However, they also believe that humans as a whole are not capable of keeping a perfect world. They are much too chaotic. To ratify this they believe that their freedom must be stripped to create a perfect world. A world where they dominate and rule."

"What-Just-" I couldn't find the words to say anything. What was I supposed to say to something like that? That history was apparently wrong and the Templars were evil? That the Assassins weren't evil and want to keep free will? This was like the conspiracy theories I hear all the time from nut jobs back in my time. The ones who say the government actually has secret branches they're keeping from us in order to achieve some kind of purpose know one really knows about. They all sounded insane and the people telling them reflected that insanity. With Achilles and Connor I was seeing no insanity in their eyes. They were completely sane and were certain of what they spoke. I didn't understand how this could be true.

I looked to Kyle for an answer. I wasn't sure of what to think myself. I wanted to believe Connor and Achilles. I truly did. It was too crazy, though. Two organizations were fighting one another for the fate of the world in a secret war no one else knew about? It belonged in a fantasy book as a great plot, which would sell. It didn't belong in real life. How was I supposed to believe such a thing? Kyle himself looked unsure, biting his lip. He always bit his lip when he thoughts things over. It was a habit he never really got rid of.

He met my eyes and shrugged. "Sorry, Lettie, As much as I hate to say it they could be right. History about the Templars could have changed."

"Really? Mr. Kyle 'I'm-a-history-nut' Vinova is telling me history is different from the way he learned it?"

"What else do you want me to say? I told you before we started this trip how history was biased. Apparently, the Templars proved me right," he answered, grimacing.

"So you believe their story? How they're Assassins and they're battling the Templars for free will?"

"Honestly? No, I don't. This sounds like those people who say the world is going to end in 2012, which it won't," he added to a startled Connor. "It's a conspiracy theory people keep talking about. I think it's complete bull, but I'm going to have to believe in Connor. Him and Achilles believe our story of being from the future. Shouldn't we give them the same courtesy?"

I thought about it. Connor was ready to believe our story of being from the future. To him that sounded ridiculous and untrue, yet he still believed it because of me. Well, that and he saw the living proof himself. He kept seeing me unaged even though it's been five years for him. Something was holding me back, though.

"How do I know that the Assassins are trying to keep free will for the people?" I asked, turning to Achilles. The flames danced shadows across his aged face, covering the secrets he could possibly tell. "Are you really the good guys or are you just saying that to gain our support?"

He cracked a smile. "I'm starting to like you. You don't blindly accept whatever you are given. You need not worry. We are, as you put it, the good guys. However, the Templars also believe they are on the side of good. So, I suppose you have the right to be cautious."

"Arlette," Connor called. I shifted my eyes towards him to see he was staring at me from beneath his hood. Below the hood, I saw the amber light flash almost begging. "After all you have seen, do you truly believe we wish to take men's freedom from them?"

"...No." I heaved a sigh. Shit, he got me. I didn't believe Connor of all people would join an organization that wanted to take freedom from people. He was a nice guy. A little naive, sure, but nice. I could see he knew right from wrong on his own. From what I've seen he was fighting to keep freedom and free the colonists by joining the war. "Fine. I believe you. You believe in me, so I'm going to have to believe in you no matter how crazy you sound."

Kyle whistled approvingly. "Wow, Connor. I'm impressed. You managed to get Lettie to believe your crazy story because she believes in you. Normally, Lettie wouldn't trust anyone as far as she could throw them when it comes to people she doesn't know. You did what many people couldn't do in a few hours. Well, for us."

"And what is that?"

"Gain her trust."

"You make it sound like I don't trust people," I commented flatly.

"You don't. You trust people not to kill you, but when it comes to personal stuff you don't trust them," Kyle indicated. "I don't know how Connor gained your trust so quickly since you admitted you believed in him. That's not something that happens every day."

"I trust people. I trust you."

"I'm your brother. Of course you trust me. Who you don't trust are your friends. Would you tell someone you traveled through time to your friends like you did with Connor?"

I stayed silent. He was right. I don't trust people very often because of how my friends tend to gossip. My friends were rather nice and I don't hate them. When it comes to gossip they tend to come up with nasty rumors. It's not something I like seeing happen to people, but I was afraid one day one of those rumors might include me, which I didn't want. The only one I full trusted was Kyle. Connor, I realized, was someone I half-trusted. I did trust him with some secrets like being a time traveler. I didn't trust him yet with any of my own personal secrets. If it weren't for losing the hourglass, I wouldn't need to trust Connor. I didn't want to but I had to. It wasn't an option.

"See? You do trust Connor," he said, triumphant in getting me to see he was right.

"Yeah. Sure. Whatever you say." I decided to let him think I did trust Connor. It was no use arguing that I didn't trust the guy fully because then he would argue I did trust him. Jeez, I have an annoying brother. I yawned. "Okay, now that we've both told our unbelievable campfire stories what happens now?"

"We will head to Philadelphia as we have planned. Hopefully, George Washington will still be there by the time we arrive," Achilles addressed, heaving a tired sigh.

"Why is he going to Philadelphia?" Kyle asked. His interest in history was back on full blast.

"He is to attend a meeting to decide on the draft Congress has made to declare the colonies' independence from the English," Connor answered. He sounded slightly distracted, staring into the flames of the fire burning in front of him. I wonder what he was thinking?

"Wait, isn't today June 30?"

"Wow, you are so lucky we lost the hourglass a few days before July 4," I noted.

He suddenly grinned, causing Achilles to glance at me slightly worried. I rolled my eyes and shrugged.

"The Declaration of Independence," Kyle announced, awed. "We're going to see the Declaration of Independence be signed. Oh, my God!"

"I take it this is important?" Achilles asked me. He was smiling, amused, at Kyle's sudden fanboying.

"You have no idea." Saying the signing of the Declaration was important was a huge understatement. It's importance was so large I don't think our country would be the same if it wasn't signed. I hugged my knees to my chest. Thinking about how America is in the future was making me homesick already. "Why is it so important you speak to Washington?"

"His life is in danger. The attempt you saw today by Thomas Hickey was only the beginning," Connor answered, gravely. His tone made me tense. I've heard Connor sound worried once and, dare I say it, hesitant. This was my first time I heard him sound almost scared. It sounded like he was scared for Washington's safety. The man almost got killed today if it wasn't for Connor. "Thomas Hickey was a Templar. He and his comrades had me thrown in jail and put to death to ensure I would not stand in their way any longer. They planned to kill George Washington today and will do so again. I wish to warn Washington of the danger he is in."

"You said they. I know you mean the Templars, but who else is a Templar?"

"Benjamin Church, Charles Lee, and Haytham Kenway to name a few," Achilles listed.

"Charles Lee?" Hearing that name snapped Kyle out of his excitement. His eyes widened in disbelief. "No way. Charles Lee can't be a Templar. He's a general in the Continental Army!"

"That may be so, but we told you the Templars are influential. They would need positions of power in order to do so. Charles Lee as well as John Pitcairn were soldiers in the army and also Templars."

"I'm not surprised Charles Lee is a Templar. I saw the man start the Boston Massacre that led to this stupid war in the first place," I acknowledged. "It makes sense how he managed to get Connor almost hung without a trial."

Kyle covered his face with one hand and groaned.

"I take it back. I don't think I want to believe in the Templars and Assassins. Everything I knew about history is fucked up now."

"Welcome to the club."

"I realize this is a considerable amount of information we've told you. It's getting rather late. We will continue this discussion in the morning," Achilles deciding, gazing at our tired faces and even Connor's stressed one. "Much has happened today. We should turn in for the night."

We all agreed. I was feeling like complete shit right now and Kyle was starting to yawn and rub his eyes repeatedly. The break and the short nap we had in the carriage wasn't enough to restore our energy. We were tired.

Achilles told Connor, Kyle, and I to turn in for the night while he kept watch. Unlike what we knew about camping in our era, the forests surrounding us weren't exactly empty and away from wild animals. Without any cots or blankets Kyle and I rested on our sides on the hard, dirt floor back to back. With no blankets we decided to at least share warmth by being next to one another. I face away from the fire, curled up on my side with my arm under my head for a pillow. I closed my eyes but sleep did not come easy. Behind me, I heard Kyle breathe evenly. He was asleep. Lucky. How could he sleep so easily when we learned so much?

Templars, Assassins, losing our way home...All of it weighed heavily in my mind. I didn't understand how two ancient organizations managed to survive to this day. They were fighting a war almost no one knew about and over control of man's free will. It was insane, it was the stuff of fairy tales where good and evil duked it out. But this wasn't a story. I didn't know who was good, who was evil, or whether or not it was right. On top of being told that we're trapped in the past with no way to get home we were told about this secret war. We didn't know where the hourglass was at all. If it was stolen, we didn't know who stole it. What were we going to do?

I was scared. All of my fears about traveling through time were coming true. We were stuck in the past with no real indication of when we could go back home. The only people who knew about it and could potentially help us had their own problems. And most of all? What Kyle told me about my future self was what really scared me. If I knew this was going to happen, why would I force myself to go through it? What had happened during this time that caused me to not only change for the better, by what Kyle said, but also appear melancholy? I was afraid to find out. I didn't want to get hurt, physically or emotionally, if we formed ties with the people in this era. The pain wasn't worth it. I didn't want to go through any pain.

Though I tried to fight it, a tear silently fell down my closed eyes. I wanted to go home. I didn't want to be here in another era where we were completely out of our element. I wanted to be safe in my bed while worrying about school and grades. I wanted to go home. But, I had a feeling I wouldn't be seeing home for a long time. A _very_ long time.

XXX

**Bleh, okay. I didn't like writing this chapter at all. I think it's getting harder for me to write in first-person point-of-view. Well, that and how are you supposed to explain to two people about the Assassins and Templars? It was hard to get through that explanation. Not to mention I was busy with the worst week of my life. Studying for two different tests at the same time for two different classes sucks on top of quizzes. I had to practically wrench this chapter out. Tell me how I did explaining it because I'm going on no one's opinion on how it looks except my own. **

**On a side note did anyone else see the new trailer for Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag? My bro told me that the new assassin would be a pirate but I didn't know it would be Edward Kenway. Threw me for a loop there for a moment. I thought I would hate seeing a new assassin without them finishing Connor's story, but it's a Kenway so it's fine. Okay, got that out of my system.**

**Please review!**


	9. Decisions Made

Chapter 9

"Remind me again why I agreed to this?" I asked, trailing behind Kyle as we followed Achilles and Connor. We were inside the City Hall in Philadelphia on the fourth of July where the entirety of Congress was to sign our official independence from the British Empire. The inside of the building was stately with a more refined interior than I would have imagined for this time period. Already we saw several refined men in elegant breeches and coats speaking to one another in the halls.

"You didn't agree to it. You were forced into it," Kyle reminded me. He spoke in a low tone much like we would when entering churches. "I don't see what the big deal is. You only changed clothes."

"Clothes that are itchy and too big." I tugged at the sleeves of the dress I was wearing. I felt so exposed wearing a dress in such an important place.

The journey from New York to Philadelphia took approximately four days. We had to travel through the frontier for days when if we had a car, it would take less than a day. I was missing our time more and more each day; especially when my body's needs came into play. That was _not_ a fun experience going to the bathroom in the woods. I've done it before when I was younger and swore I would never do it again. I hated it. By the time we reached the city it was on the morning of July 4.

The moment we came into the city and started making our way to the city hall, Achilles eventually brought up the one issue I dreaded about this time period. I was a woman and should dress as such. Apparently, I could get arrested by the Redcoats if they saw me dressed as a man and eventually hung for not dressing as a woman should. Another reason to hate this time period. To fix this issue Achilles had Connor go steal some clothes hanging in the back lots of homes. It was wrong to steal, but we had no time to go to a tailor shop to buy me some clothes. It took days to make a simple everyday gown, Kyle told me. So stealing it was.

What was even more embarrassing was changing into the clothes in a different back lot while Kyle explained to me what each thing was and what to put on first. He researched everything about this era from the types of food people ate to the fashion everyone wore before we started the trip. By the time I managed to put everything on (to the first layer of the shift to the main gown with a low neckline), I was flushing red. I wasn't completely bare underneath the shift since I kept my underwear still on. It left me uncomfortable despite Achilles' praise I didn't look like a man anymore. Unfortunately, there was nothing I could do for my hair so I kept it in the braid. Kyle stuffed my clothes into my bag and then, we made our way to the City Hall by noon.

I fiddled with the sleeves of the dress barely reaching my wrists. Being the middle of summer, it was more ideal to wear shorter sleeves. I digress. I couldn't feel more exposed to the world than I already was. The dress was itchy from being made of wool while it didn't fit exactly around my waist. It was made for a woman with a much bigger bust than me, so I always felt like it would reveal my cleavage if I so much as bended down (which I shouldn't. Kyle told me most of the proper dresses women wore ensured that women weren't able to bend down. Goddamnit). I knew I would hate wearing the dresses here. I was lucky I was allowed to wear my boots rather than some slippers. I liked my boots, thank you very much! Even if they looked funny peeking out from the hem of my skirt.

"It's quite impressive what you accomplished," Achilles said to Connor, turning a corner into another hallway. In the distance we could hear the voice of someone on the Congress speaking. We must be close.

"Is that...a compliment?" Connor asked, slightly shocked. It must not be everyday Achilles praises him for something. With a cynical guy like Achilles, from what little I know of him, that must be a miracle.

"Now don't misconstrue. I'm sure the whole endeavor will end tragically." Yup, there it was. "But to have come this far, well, it's more than I ever expected."

"The people yearned for freedom, but feared to grab hold of it. That fear is gone now."

"Thanks to you."

"No. This, they did on their own."

"You diminish your role. But you've always been of humble heart."

"I do what is right. No more, no less."

"You should at least feel proud of what you've done," Kyle said as we stopped in front of double doors where the voice was projecting the loudest. "It's not every day when a small colony like this manages to stand up to the largest empire in the world. To find the courage to fight back is both amazing and stupid of them."

"But mostly stupid," I added. I managed a smile for Connor. "Still, it's pretty amazing how you managed to get involved with this war. With your aid they've probably got the courage to fight. Good job."

Connor nodded, ducking his head so I couldn't see his face. The hood obscured his features well, which I'm guessing as an assassin in helpful.

Achilles nodded to what we were saying then turned serious.

"You cannot tell him."

"I have to. Otherwise, he will never be safe."

"We're in the middle of a war. I doubt anyone, much less him, would be safe," I said. Achilles was right. For days Connor and Achilles have been debating on whether to tell Washington the truth about the Templars and Assassins just as they have with us. Connor wanted to tell Washington so he would at least be prepared. Achilles was against it because of how serious this secret was. I was with Achilles on this one. Connor couldn't tell Washington about the Templars and Assassins. With him as the Commander of the Continental Army he had enough on his plate. To tell him about a secret war would distract him more than it should.

"He is safer not knowing," Achilles agreed. "By planting the seeds of doubt, you threaten to topple his entire endeavor. If Washington is paralyzed, Charles Lee will strike. You'll cause the very thing you aim to prevent. Hunt the Templars, as is your duty. But do not drag these men into it."

Connor looked as if he wanted to continue to argue. He managed to hold his tongue. Arguing about this at the moment would be a lost cause. For now, he nodded and entered through the doors, closing it behind him.

"Do you really think it's safer for Washington to not know his life is being threatened?" asked Kyle, unsure himself. I knew he was in favor of telling Washington.

"It is for the best. Washington has other duties he must attend to. He cannot be plagued by paranoia of whom to trust within his company."

"He wouldn't be able to focus on the war if he knew about this," I said. I fidgeted where we were standing by the door. I flushed each time I noticed one of the men in the hallway with us had their eyes in our direction.

"Are you alright?" Kyle couldn't ignore how I was attempting to hide myself behind him without anyone else noticing. His eyes crinkled in concern. "You look stressed."

"I'm sorry. It's the dress. I feel like I shouldn't be even standing here, being the only girl in sight."

"Don't be. Nothing will come to harm as long as we are here," Achilles reassured me.

I nodded to what he said. I know nothing would happen to me, but I felt as if I was breaking some sacred rule. Like on the _Little Rascals_ they had a clubhouse where no girl was allowed. This was basically the same. I know the men around here would think a woman had no place in politics. They shouldn't even be here at the state house where the entirety of Congress was meeting. I know I wasn't going to be able to handle the views of women here, but I couldn't do anything about it. All I could do was nod and keep my head down before I gathered too much attention with my feminist views. I'd rather stay quiet and live rather than speak out and die.

For about an hour we stood outside the door waiting for Connor to come back out of the meeting. Kyle was silently bemoaning the fact he was missing the signing of the Declaration of Independence, stating how "unfair it was to not be able to see it." I tried to ignore Kyle the best I could. It was kind of hard considering how he wanted to see the words written on the Declaration probably still wet with ink. I resisted the urge to comment how Washington and the rest of Congress were such hypocrites owning slaves when they preached about equality and the pursuit of happiness. After all, shouldn't they practice what they preach? Then, I thought against it. Kyle was going to see how different history was first hand. I might as well as let him live the euphoria of being able to witness these events while it lasts.

During that hour, I remained highly uncomfortable in my dress. My paranoia was on full blast when every time some of the men glanced my way I kept thinking they were looking at me and thinking to themselves, 'What the hell is a _woman_ doing here?' They couldn't be thinking that, I knew. I couldn't help but feel as if they were. The entire time I had my head ducked with my cheeks flushing. By the time meeting let out I was a nervous wreck with my heart beating a mile a minute.

Connor walked out after some of the other men, some of them familiar. I think I saw Benjamin Franklin among them. Kyle, upon seeing some familiar faces, was grinning widely and looked as if he would start bouncing in place. Being behind him, I held onto the back of his shirt.

"Oh, wow! We're seeing some of the Founding Fathers," he whispered excitedly. "People who have been dead for years and we're seeing them! Alive!"

"Would they be any other way at this point?" I muttered. I didn't care about seeing some old guys. Important old guys, I'll give him that. I wanted out of the state house.

Connor walked out of the room right behind another familiar face. Said familiar face lit up in surprise once spotting us standing by the door. He didn't show surprise at first. He first smiled upon seeing Achilles, and then when he saw us the astonishment lit into his eyes.

"What a pleasant surprise! I didn't know you would be here as well, Ms. Arlette," Samuel Adams greeted warmly. He held out his hand for me to take.

Kyle's jaw dropped while I was shocked myself. Huh. How about that? Samuel Adams remembered me. Stepping out from behind Kyle, I reached out to shake his hand.

"Pleasure to see you again, Mr. Adams," I said. "I'm surprised you remember me. We met the one time."

"Ha! Of course I remember you. Connor is a good friend of mine so I remember our meeting quite well. It's not every day I meet a woman such as yourself along with a well-respected young man like Connor." Samuel nodded at Connor with good cheer. He soon noticed Kyle gaping between me and Sam. "I take it this is the brother you were separated from back then?"

I nodded. "Mr. Adams, this is my brother, Kyle Vinova. Kyle, this is Mr. Samuel Adams."

"Nice to meet you," Samuel said.

"A pleasure, sir!" Kyle exclaimed a bit too enthusiastically. He eagerly shook Samuel's hand with a bit too much vigor. Samuel was taken aback by his enthusiasm while it made me feel embarrassed. "It's really an honor to meet you. I, er, that is, Lettie's told me so much about you. She said you helped organize the Boston Tea Party a few years ago."

"Oh. Were you both there?" Samuel asked, curious.

"Yes, although Arlette and Kyle did not see us," Connor said. His lips curled in amusement. "Do you recall the strange young man who snuck on board to make off with a crate of tea?"

"Yes. I do seem to remember a young man that did that. A brave, if not foolish, action."

"That was Kyle."

Samuel examined Kyle for a moment. My stupid, too easy to impress brother squirmed excitedly under his gaze. It must have been a dream come true for him for a founding father to be talking to him. _Talking!_ Personally, I don't see the appeal. I already saw him commit illegal actions so I guess that ruined this god-like aura most of the founding fathers had. Finally, he cracked a smile.

"I must say it's not every day a young man like you will find the courage to act like that and not be in the army." He turned to Achilles. "Are you training him as well? If he is not in the army, then I gather he is one of yours."

Before Achilles could open his mouth, Kyle opened his.

"Actually, yes. I recently got recruited."

What the hell?

I stared at Kyle like he was insane. Actually, no. I think he's insane on a daily basis. What he said was a bit crazier than usual. Sometimes, I can hardly believe the things that come out of his mouth. Connor was startled by the statement as well, but said nothing. Achilles didn't either. All he did was narrow his eyes at Kyle. Kyle either ignored the look or didn't notice. I'm betting on the former.

Samuel didn't notice any of our reactions and nodded.

"Well, I'm sure you'll become a fine soldier one day. We hope you can aid us in this war in the future." He pulled out a pocket watch from his coat and glanced at it. "I must be going. Several members in Congress have not signed the document of our declaration yet and I must inquire to them as to why. Good day, Achilles, Connor. It was a pleasure to see you again, Ms. Arlette."

Nodding, Samuel walked off down the halls to go do whatever it is he was supposed to do. Once he was out of earshot, I glared at Kyle.

"Do I want to know why you lied to Samuel Adams you were recruited to be an assassin?" I questioned, suspicious.

"Do I want to know why didn't tell me you met Samuel Adams?" he asked in the same tone. Eerily enough, it sounded exactly like mine. However, he dropped the tone when my gaze grew more intense. "Um, yeah. I didn't exactly lie. I was planning on asking Achilles if he would train me to be an assassin."

From some instinct he flinched. He must have known I would most likely get angry at him for even suggesting he thought about this. And, boy, was he right to do that. I was starting to see red the moment he said assassin. Before I could give him a tongue lashing, Achilles spoke.

"And may I ask why? I doubt you said that on an impulse," he assumed. His dark stern eyes peeked out from under his hat making them look much like their mother's. Their mother had a tendency to glare at them from under hooded eyes. It was like looking at a hawk ready to devour its prey at a moment's notice. "You know of the Assassins and Templars but need not involve yourself in our war. Why do you wish to become one?"

"I guess I'm being a bit selfish saying this, but I want to go look for the hourglass myself. This whole thing is my fault." He cast his eyes to the ground where he toed the wooden boards with his sneakers. "We're stuck in the past because I wasn't careful enough to hide the hourglass. I made Lettie feel like her life was over so she hasn't been smiling lately. I'm not a very good older brother if I can't make her happy, right? I already feel so guilty I dragged her into this mess. Wouldn't it be better for me to go find the hourglass to make Lettie smile again?"

"You wish to ensure her happiness?" Connor questioned, slightly tilting his head with curiosity.

"Yeah. I want to protect her, too. This era isn't exactly as safe as the time we live in. Actually, no time or era is completely safe. But, I don't want her to die because she became a hostage when I can do something about it. If I train to be an assassin, I can make sure she's safe again."

Kyle...I didn't know what to say to that. Kyle and I were closer than most siblings were. We were like twins although we were at least ten months apart. I didn't know he valued my happiness more than his own safety. I was touched. He even noticed I wasn't smiling as much as I used to-something I hadn't noticed before myself.

Achilles glanced at my stunned face before stating, "Are you certain you wish to become an assassin? It will be dangerous. You will be risking your life each and every day. There is no turning back once you start training and dedicating your life for the Brotherhood."

"I've already thought about it these past four days. I _want_ to become an assassin."

"Should you not ask Arlette about this?" Connor eyed me since I became quiet at this topic. "This decision does not only affect you. You may be leaving your sister for long stretches of time where she will worry about you."

"I..." Kyle shyly turned his eyes to me. "Um, Lettie? What do you think about this?"

What do I think of this? I think it's the stupidest idea in the entire world! He wants to go get himself killed and risk his life finding our way home! What is he thinking? He comes up with insane ideas half the time, but this...! I was at a loss for words. I wanted to tell him exactly what I thought about this. A part of me told me maybe this was for the best. Who was I to judge what Kyle wants to do with his life? Not only that, he was doing this for me. He wanted to see me happy again. I was more afraid he was going to die and leave me alone rather than joining a secret brotherhood. I didn't want to be alone here. I didn't want to sit around waiting for him thinking he was going to die. That was a horrible existence.

"It's not my place make decisions for you," I sighed. "You're a big boy, Kyle. I don't need to make your choices. It's your life. But, I'm still going to be worried about you like Connor said. So, that's why I'm going to join you."

"Excuse me?"

"I want to be an assassin."

"No. Forget it," Kyle, for once in his life, rejected. "That's out of the question. I'm not letting you get involved in this."

"But you're getting involved in it."

"That's my choice! You don't need to force yourself to join, too, if you don't want to."

"Who says I'm forcing myself?"

"I am! You didn't want to do this until I brought this up! I actually thought about this. You didn't."

"So? I'm still doing this."

"Why do you wish to become an assassin?" Connor interjected, interrupting our sibling squabble. He was speaking to me. "Arlette, do you have a reason why you wish to do the same?"

"Like you said, I'm going to be left behind worrying constantly about him. He worries me even without the war going on. I don't want to wait to hear he's dead. If I become one, I'll have some peace of mind he'll be fine because I'll be there to make sure of that." I paused. Connor had started frowning the moment I announced I wanted to join. He was displeased. "Er, do you think it's a good idea?"

"Tell Lettie it's not," Kyle pleaded to both Achilles and Connor.

Achilles hummed in contemplation. Connor shifted his gaze between Kyle's pleading eyes to mine. I felt like a puppy asking for a morsel more of food-big eyes and all.

"I do not think it is a good idea. However," he added just as Kyle was about to cheer and I was about to pout, "as Arlette said before it is not my place to decide. If she wishes to become an assassin, then she shall. Achilles, what do you say?"

"It is her decision to make," he agreed. "Also, I believe this was meant to be."

"What do you mean?"

"Kyle's explanation comes to mind the moment Arlette decided she wished to be recruited. As I remember, Kyle, you said a future Arlette appeared to you telling you to travel back to the past. You also said she knew of the Assassin order when you yourself did not. I believe this is what she wanted. She wanted the two of you to join the Brotherhood. This could have been what may have changed Arlette's life for the better."

"My future self wanted me to become an assassin?" I asked. Every time my future self is brought up I can't help but wonder what the hell I was planning. Why go through all this effort to make sure I became an assassin? How was it supposed to help me?

"In theory, of course. It is decision of what you want now."

"I...still want to do it. I can't sit at home while Kyle is out risking his life to find our way to our time. It's not how I am."

Kyle groaned, touching his forehead. "Damnit. I can't do anything when she has her mind set on this. Fine! Can you train the both of us to be assassins?"

I smiled at his defeated face. It grew wider when I noticed Connor shared the same expression. Hm, I wonder why? Achilles smirked at their shared expressions.

"It's settled, then, I suppose. Arlette, Kyle," Achilles addressed. We both snapped to attention. "Your training will be no easy task. It will be difficult and the path you are taking will be wrought with danger. Are you both certain this is what you want?"

We nodded.

"Then, there is little else to discuss. From now on, you are apprentices of the Assassins. We will begin your training when we return to our homestead."

Kyle started smiling at the thought of training to become like Connor and to find our way home. On the other hand, I was a little scared. I'm sure we both realized being an assassin was going to be harder than anything we've ever faced. It won't be a game. This will be a matter of life and death. One wrong move and we could be killed in either war. A part of me gnawed at the lingering thought I desperately pushed to the back of my head. Was this going to be worth all the trouble? Did I want to fight in a war I wanted no part of so we could find our way home? It scared the hell out of me, but my conviction to get home was giving me the courage to do this.

I hope I'm making the right choice. Because if not, I'm dead.

* * *

**Bleh, really short. I wanted it to be longer but the next chapter (which I wrote in advance) would make no sense if I just added it at the end. I'm too lazy to try to combine them after writing and editing the worst essay of my life. Curse you rhetorical essays! I hate them! Bane of my writing existence! I'll probably update the next chapter sometime this week. **

**So Lettie and Kyle start their journey to become assassins. I realize most of the other stories of this category (girl getting stuck in AC and trains to be an assassin with no problem) will compare this to those stories and people will think, "Ugh, here we go again. Girl becoming an assassin and following Connor everywhere and becoming a badass at the end." Their training won't end in just a month or two. I have an entire timeline set out to make their training just a little bit harder. Since from their point in time, the Revolutionary war won't end for another _seven years._ Yeah, they're going to flesh out and come into their own during that time. It took Ezio nearly ten years to become a master assassin. Don't know how long Connor took. ****And I'm warning now that Lettie will not be spending every waking moment trailing after Connor. The era kind of restricts her from doing that. **

**Okay, I'm tired. Just took my final film test and I'm ready to sleep.**

**Please review!**


	10. Training

Chapter 10

"Arlette! Arlette, wake up! It is time to train," came a voice pounding at my door.

I groaned, pulling the pillow over my head. Crap, why do I have to be such a light sleeper? My hand patted my nightstand for my watch and when I felt the familiar leather I pulled it under the cover with me. I peeked one eye open to look at it and moaned again. Fuck, its like seven in the morning! I don't get up seven in the morning. It should be illegal to wake up so fucking early.

"Arlette!"

"Leave me alone! Too early," I whined, half moaning half-whimpering. The knocking insisted. "Mom, too early! Don't got school 'til noon!"

"Arlette, I am not your mother." The knocking stopped. I mentally cheered. Thank God! Precious sleep! Sighing, I snuggled into my blanket intent of falling back into a warm slumber. Well, I was.

That was all ruined when the duvet was suddenly ripped from me, my cocoon gone. I didn't have time to curl up as I was yanked out of bed by my ankles to fall onto the cold wooden floor. I shrieked, my eyes flying open to face a tall imposing figure standing over me. For a moment I panicked. What axe murderer was standing over me? Then, I saw the familiar white and blue and the imposing amber eyes. I whined. Shit, he's worse than an axe murderer.

"Really, Connor? You couldn't shake my shoulder or something?" I asked, blurrily glaring up at him.

"You would not awaken any way otherwise," he reasoned. "Now, get up. Its time for breakfast."

"I thought you said it was time to train?"

"We're training after we have eaten."

I made a keening sound that made Connor frown. I rubbed my eyes with the heels of my hands. "I hate you. I hate you so much right now. It should be illegal to be up this early."

"You should get dressed," he said, ignoring my complaints.

"Get dressed in what?"

He pointed to a bundle of clothes lying innocently on a chair nearby. I blinked wearily at the grey coat, trousers, and the matching tunic underneath. The coat resembled the one Connor wore, but obviously it was grey and didn't have the Native touches he put on his. I got off the floor to walk over to the chair, picking up the coat. My fingertips traced over the eagle embroidered on the hood.

"What's this?" I asked, yawning.

"Those will be the clothes you wear during your training and missions. Achilles has told me those are the traditional clothing novices of the Brotherhood wear until they reach the Master rank," he explained.

"Hang on. Weren't you wearing your native clothes when Achilles was training you? Why can't I wear my clothes?"

He shrugged. "Do you have any other clothes to wear?"

"No..."

"Then, those will have to do." Without another word Connor walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.

I grumbled. Damn, I really had no choice but to put those on. It was either this or go naked. Reluctantly, I pulled on the clothes. They were actually kind of comfy in terms of maneuvering. But, I couldn't help but feel like it wasn't tight enough. My legs were used to being restrained by my tight pants to accent my legs. That was a big no-no in this day in age as women that showed even their ankles was scandalous. So the slightly loose trousers made me feel like I lost something. Sighing, I slipped on the coat and boots and made my way out the door.

I walked out into the large hallway, turning to walk down the stairs. Rubbing my eyes, I automatically turned left at the bottom of the stairs into the dining room where the wooden table had four places set. At the table sat Achilles at the head, Connor on his right, and Kyle on his left. There was another place next to Kyle left for me.

"M-Morning," I greeted sleepily.

"Good morning," Achilles responded. Since Connor was the one to wake me up, he said nothing.

I sat beside Kyle, silently noting he was wearing the same clothes as me. These must really be the novice clothes for newly recruited Assassins. But, I was too sleepy to say anything. I face planted onto the table next to my plate, my head hitting it with a 'thunk.'

"Kyle," I whined. "Is coffee around during this time period?"

"Uh, I think so. It was the alternative to tea in terms of drinks," he answered.

"Please tell me you have coffee," I begged Achilles.

"We do, but a woman shouldn't be drinking something like it," he disapproved.

"I don't care! Coffee!"

"Sorry, Lettie isn't usually like this," Kyle apologized. "She hates mornings and being woken up with less than seven hours of sleep. She usually tends to act cranky."

"Mornings are the devil's work," I retorted, irritated. "Whoever decided morning should exist should be shot and maimed. I can't function so early without coffee. No teen should even be awake before noon."

"You realize that coffee during this time is going to be way stronger than your usual?"

"Do we have sugar?"

"In limited supply," Connor answered. "There has been a shortage of it due to the war."

"Damn. What about milk?"

"There's a cow out back," Kyle mentioned.

"Then, we're fine." I can't drink my coffee black, anyway. It has to have sugar or milk in it; otherwise, I refuse to touch the stuff.

"You really aren't a morning person," he sighed. "Me and Connor got up just fine an hour ago."

"You're too cheerful to be normal. As for Connor, I have no idea." I lifted my head to stare at Connor. He didn't have his hood up so I could see his dark hair slightly braided with beads in some places. "I still can't believe you're our age. You don't look anything like the fifteen year old I met. Looking at you now makes me think I haven't met you five years ago!"

"As you realize, time has moved forward for us as you've traveled through it," he said.

I groaned as a middle-aged maid entered the room with the food she probably cooked. I still wasn't sure what her name was. Connor didn't even sound like he was nineteen. He acts like he's a middle-aged man. "I'm tired."

"Cease your whining. This is the time you will be rising from now on," Achilles stated firmly. He poked at some eggs to put on his plate-his signal to allow everyone else to start. I lifted my head so I could grab some food before the guys got to it. Its universal for all teenaged boys to scarf down food when it's in sight.

"Why so early?"

"It is better to rise early than delay by sleeping in."

"Old man talk," Kyle muttered beside me and looked down into his full plate. I grinned into my cup of coffee after I poured large amounts of milk into it to get to my taste. It really was bitter, but I was more awake. The taste itself helped me wake up.

Achilles shot him a glare and then to Connor who snorted into his own coffee. This is what he gets when he puts three teenagers in the same room. A whole lot of disrespect and fooling around going on.

"So," I started to change the subject. "What's the plan for our training? I know we both agreed to become Assassins, but what kind of training are we supposed to do?"

"You two are to work on stealth and free-running until lunch, then combat training to supper and research of the history of our Brotherhood until dinner. It will alternate every other day so you can gain a better understanding of each area. I will supervise your history study while Connor will look after your stealth; we will both instruct you on combat training."

"Do we get any chance to rest outside of eating?" I asked. Other than history, that sounds like a very physical regime.

"After dinner, yes."

"But we're gonna be so tired we'll collapse after dinner," Kyle moaned in despair. "You call that rest?"

"I guess this is what we get for agreeing to this." This was gonna suck so bad. I just know it. I kind of wished I hadn't agreed to this because of the future aches and pains. But, this was our only option instead of being lazy and burdens on Achilles. Achilles was an old crippled man. We couldn't put that kind of burden on him. He's already got enough on his plate with Connor and the Assassins! So our only other option was to become Assassins ourselves. I managed a shaky grin. "So. When do we start?"

* * *

I was really regretting my words about starting training. Training, in less than poetic terms, was hell.

For two months Connor and Achilles practically drove us into the ground with all of their training. They gave us nearly no room to breathe before making us either sprint around the lake nearby or start climbing a cliff face. Well, Connor made us do that one. Achilles had us practice fencing and adjusting to the hatchets. We got to learn how to fight with the removable hidden blade (the specialty weapon of the Assassins) in one hand with different weapon with the other. Then, he had us study the history of the Assassins before dinner.

The Assassins were more than people who killed other people. They were an order bent on protecting innocent civilians from having their free will taken away by the Templars. The Templars weren't just those knights in the Middle Ages who wanted to fight for the name of England. They had a much larger agenda to find special items called Pieces of Eden to dominate the world. These Pieces of Eden all had special powers that seemed otherworldly. With these items they could dominate the world and shape it in their image all for the name of peace. I already had an idea that the key and hourglass could be Pieces of was no way we could travel through time otherwise. The Templars and Assassins were sworn enemies that have been fighting for the fate of humanity for God knows how long. It turns out the man I met in Renaissance Italy, Ezio Auditore, was an assassin as well. One of the best, apparently. He managed to revive the Rome branch of the order on his own and got rid of the Borgia reign in Italy. Not only that he was one of the best mentors the Brotherhood ever had. Odd. When I met him all I could think about was what a lady killer he was. No pun intended.

Kyle and I studied more than the history of the Assassins. We studied their philosophy. They followed a creed that has been the heart of the Brotherhood for ages. There were three of them in total. One, stay your blade from the flesh of the innocent; two, hide in plain sight; and three, never compromise the Brotherhood. We were told to follow those tenants but to decipher what they could mean in different situations. Then, there was the philosophy we had to keep to heart.

_Nothing is true, everything is permitted._

We had to interpret that however we wanted. What I got from it was how we had to question everything. If someone told us the sky was blue, we would have to see for ourselves if it really is blue or its just what we're seeing that makes it blue. All opinions were free to come out, not just a single person saying the sky is blue. I already had that philosophy how we shouldn't really believe one account of a story before we form an opinion. An old teacher of mine in high school had us look at different accounts on a single subject and made us form our own opinion. Kyle, on the other hand, was a bit peeved. He was an historian. He had to look at limited, biased accounts to make his own opinion, which he thought really wasn't fair. He was expected to question how history went now? Despite the different accounts made on it already? Blasphemy!

Other than that, the physical part of our training was the hardest to adjust to. Apparently, our standards of physical training was different to their standards. Very different. It took that entire month to get our stamina up to both of their standards. Climbing and free-running, as they called it, took up all of our time to get used to. Kyle and I had no arm muscles at all to pull us up buildings bare handed without any sort of aid. True to Kyle's prediction and my worst nightmare we had barely no time to rest outside sleeping at night. Each morning since that first day we woke up bright and early and incredibly sore. I swear that first morning I had to crawl out of bed to go downstairs. Our bodies hurt in ways I didn't even know they could.

Combat training was most likely the worst. We had to learn how to fight with two weapons in each hand. At first I was afraid to touch any of the weapons because of how sharp they were. But Connor's idea of training was more hands on. He tossed me a weapon (a hatchet) and told me to prepare myself before attacking me. I had so many bruises that day. After he finished his assault, he told me what I did wrong before teaching us our stances and how to correctly hold the hatchet. Kyle watched us fight and had paled when Connor said it was his turn. He did the same method with all of the weapons we had to learn how to wield which included the hidden blade, a hatchet, a knife, a sword, a bow and arrow, a pistol, and something called a rope dart.

Surprisingly, we also find out a couple of things during training. It turns out I was great at close combat as well as hand-to-hand. Connor taught us how to counter our opponent's attacks with all our weapons, including our bare fists. He taught us a few basic counters. I was able to pick it up pretty quickly and it became my favorite way to fight. Although it wasn't the ideal way to fight, it was easy for me. As for Kyle, he was much better at long-range fighting. He was better at shooting people with a pistol. I already knew he was better because of his sniper eyes and his example at Lexington. He was also better in terms of stamina. After the two months of conditioning, he could sprint far longer compared to me. But I was better at free-running and climbing buildings. Stealth also turned out to be an area I excelled in. I found that out when Achilles taught us assassination techniques. I was better at climbing up to buildings and jumping down to hit targets silently. Well, kind of. I had to work on hunting small animals around the homestead as my assassination targets to practice on. I had yet to kill an actual human, which I had been dreading. It killed me a bit on the inside when I killed the animals. What would I be like once i killed someone? Both of us had our strengths and weaknesses, but if we teamed up we could hide those weaknesses. Or at least that's what Achilles says.

After the first two weeks of non-stop physical conditioning, Kyle and I eventually got used to being sore and went with it. We improved a lot, but we still weren't ready for missions the other assassins were doing. Yet, for all our training there was nothing that could have prepared me to do what every assassin must learn.

It was what we had to learn next that made realize things were horribly real to me.

One morning we got up at the usual time (I was getting better at waking up early, but Connor still had to drag me out of bed) and ate breakfast altogether. After we finished, Connor herded us outside. Then, started leading us out into the forests surrounding the Davenport homestead. When we first arrived here Kyle and I were awed by the fact Connor had gathered people to live here on the homestead to call their home. From what we were told they were people who were either driven from their previous home or looking for a second chance. They were a bunch of misfits like ourselves. We haven't met any of the residence yet, but we would soon. I know it.

He led us through the forest silently without a word. We realized early on Connor was a man of few words. Neither of us said a word, both of us still too sore and tired to say anything. Wouldn't Mom be proud we were quiet for once? So, during the walk through the forest we were greeted with the call of birds from above while animals scattered at the footsteps crunching on the dirt and fallen branches. We were probably walking for about half an hour to allow us to fully awaken when we came upon a cliff face. Without any instructions he started climbing the cliff.

Kyle and I exchanged a look of displeasure. We didn't like climbing cliffs when he first made us climb one. Our hands were covered in cuts from gripping the rock where it cut into our skin. They were still healing from that underneath our fingerless gloves (or as I'd like to call them hobo gloves). Sighing, we followed after Connor, who was expecting us to follow without him actually saying it.

A few minutes later after much cursing by Kyle for not being able to find footholds to climb on, we were at the top of the cliff. Connor, who had obviously arrived before us, was looking towards the ocean on the horizon. We had a clear view of it from the top. When we arrived he turned towards us.

"Kyle, Arlette," he addressed calmly. "Today, you will be learning an essential skill every assassin must learn in order to perform effectively during missions. You will be learning how to perform a leap of faith."

"Um, what?" I asked, slightly nervous. A leap of faith? As in something like trusting someone with a great secret?

"A leap of faith. You must be able to jump from a great height in order to reach a target on the ground." He pointed to a fallen tree hanging off the cliff. It looked stable because it was lodged between two medium sized rocks. He gestured to something below. We peered down the cliff to see a pile of leaves and broken branches conveniently below the tree. The dots connected in our heads.

We stared at him with wide eyes incredulously. My heart was pounding against my ribcage. He wasn't suggesting...?

"You want us to jump off a cliff and land in that tiny pile of leaves fifty meters below? Are you trying to get us killed?" Kyle gaped.

"Do not panic. It is perfectly safe," he assured us. I was feeling anything but assured.

"That's suicide! We're never going to survive a fall like that!" I argued.

"Yes, you are. I have done many leaps of faith in the past and here I stand today."

"Why would we need to learn how to do these? We can just climb down!" Kyle agreed with me.

Connor shook his head. "During missions, there will come a time where your target is on the ground while you are on the top of buildings. Performing a leap of faith is the fastest method to reaching the ground as well as securing a hiding place should you require one. Every assassin must be able to perform it."

"But you're asking us to jump off a cliff without knowing if we'll land in the leaves!" I gasped. My panic was rising like the crest of a wave. This was insane. We were never going to survive a fall like that! A pile of leaves wouldn't keep us from killing ourselves! It was suicide!

"I guess this is why its called a leap of faith. You have to trust that you're gonna survive," Kyle observed bitterly.

"In a sense. Now," he said, gazing between us two, "who would like to go first?"

Kyle and I glanced at one another. We immediately pointed at the other.

"He will!"

"She will!"

We paused, wondering how we managed to say that at the same time. Surprised, I glared at him the same time he did. "No, you go!"

"You go! You're the oldest!" I exclaimed.

"Yeah, and as the oldest I say you go first!" he argued.

"Older siblings usually protect their younger siblings. They don't make them jump off a cliff first!"

"Survival of the fittest, Lettie. You have to go first to see if its safe for me to try."

"What kind of logic is that?!"

"A good one!"

"Enough!" Connor barked. We shut up instantly. He nodded towards me. "Arlette, you will go first."

I bit my lip, resisting the urge to whimper. This wasn't fair. Why did I ever agree to become an assassin again? Very reluctantly, I dragged my feet over to the tree. I hopped onto it, taking great care to spread out my arms to help me balance as I slowly made my way over to the tip of the branch.

_Don't look down. Don't look down_, I chanted in my head. I could handle heights just fine-not when I was literally about to jump to my death. I made it to the tip ,gripping the sides to steady myself, and squeezed my eyes closed. I wasn't crouched on a tree ready to plunge down off a cliff to land in a pile of leaves that may or may not decide whether I live or not. Nope. So wasn't there. If my heart wasn't bursting out of my chest before, it was practically climbing up my throat to escape by now. It would be lucky to get out of this.

"Alright, Arlette. What you need to do first is see how far the leaves are in order to angle your jump," Connor advised me. "When you jump make sure to roll head-over-heels so you may land on your back. It will help cushion the fall and leave you unharmed."

I peeked an eye open to try and see the pile of leaves. Suddenly, a wave of dizziness hit me as the ground appeared to come closer. Gasping, I screwed my eyes closed, breathing deeply to make my head stop spinning.

"C-Connor? I don't think I can do this," I gasped. My arms were starting to tremble, my body slightly swaying. If there was a wind, I'm sure I would've been knocked over.

"Yes, you can. All you need to do is trust yourself."

"I trust myself not to jump! I can't do this!"

"She's not gonna do it, man. She's too scared," Kyle said.

"She needs motivation. I know Arlette can perform this well."

It was nice how Connor believed in me. I wish I could say the same for me. I don't think I can do this. This was worse than what happened at camp. I had a harness back then to ensure I wouldn't die. This time I was trusting only myself into making sure I survive, and I didn't think I would.

Reality cruelly brought me back when the tree bounced. I gripped the tree like it was my lifeline. What the hell?! Peering over my shoulder, I think all the blood left my face as Connor was suddenly behind me. He was crouched low as well, but he had a determined gleam in his eyes.

"C-Connor? What are you doing?"

"I'm sorry for doing this, but its for your own good," he apologized. I don't know if it was sincere or not because what he did next zapped my thoughts and fried them to a crisp.

Connor pushed me.

He literally pushed me off that freakin' tree to free fall off the cliff! I didn't even see his arm move until he had already shoved me back enough to lose my balance. I'm pretty sure my scream resonated throughout the valley and caused a few birds to take flight.

Free falling through the air, my lungs were emptied of it. What was a three second drop stretched like hours for me. I squeezed my eyes closed.

Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, GOD! I'm going to die. I'm going to die after being pushed off a cliff and it'll all be Connor's fault! I was awaiting my death, but as many times before I felt a small, firm thump underneath me. I blacked out the moment I landed on something solid.

* * *

When I gained consciousness I was being shaken by my shoulders.

"Arlette! Arlette, are you alright?" came the voice of Connor.

"I can't believe you did that! If my sister's dead because of you, Templars will be the least of your worries!" Kyle threatened.

I groaned, silencing their voices. I opened my eyes to see Connor was holding me by my shoulders. Kyle was hovering over his shoulder, caught between glaring at Connor and peering at me in open worry. That's new. He doesn't usually show his worry. When they saw I was awake they backed off to give me space.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Connor pushed you off a cliff," Kyle answered. "I think you fainted the moment you landed in the leaves."

"I did not expect her to faint! I thought Arlette would be capable of performing a leap of faith with a little push!" Connor justified.

I took a moment to register what he said. The reality and memory of what happened slammed into me like a freight train. Panic and shock caused tears to line my eyes and stream down my cheeks. I began to tremble violently. Connor tensed and opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted as I lifted my hand to slap him. The sharp smack silenced everything around us, the boys staring at me in shock. There wasn't even the cry of animals to fill the silence.

"A little push? I can't believe you! You don't shove people off cliffs when they don't want to jump! I could have died! I hate you!" I yelled at him. I wrenched myself out of his hands, got to my feet, and sprinted off into the forest, ignoring Kyle shouting after me. Sobs wracked my chest.

The nerve of that guy! How could he push me off a cliff like that? I could have died! Didn't he care he could've killed me? Of course not. He's an assassin. He doesn't care if he kills just one more person, least of all me. What if I really did die? Would he even care he pushed one of his students to their death all for the sake of learning a move she was afraid to do? If being an assassin made me lose compassion for human lives, I didn't want to be one anymore. I knew I would be killing people, but I didn't want to become a monster who killed for fun.

I wasn't sure where I was headed. I kept running through the woods without a general idea of where to go. All I could hear was my own harsh breathing and the crunching of wood from my footsteps. I avoided any cliff faces and kept running without any idea of where I was going. So, I was evidently surprised when I ended up near a stream. I stopped short of the water's edge and crouched at the bank into a ball. I buried my face into the rough material of my robes, hugging my bent legs.

I want to go home. I don't want to be in the 1770's in the middle of a secret war. It was bad enough with the American one! That fall off the cliff made me realize at any given moment I could be killed. Joining the assassins would double my chances of being killed. Sign my death warrant, in fact. So, what was I thinking when I decided to join them? I wasn't thinking. I was still too shocked with all the information Connor and Achilles told us that day. It was like anything that had to do with assassins was changing my life for the worse.

Ezio, Connor, Achilles...I don't know why assassins seemed to gravitate towards me and Kyle, but I didn't want it. Kyle might, but I didn't. I just wanted to go home where people weren't trying to kill me and everything made sense. I wanted my old life back where all I had to worry about was passing my classes. But, I realized the moment I decided to travel through time, my old life was just that: old. I could never get that life back to the way it was before.

My life had changed, for the better or worse.

I wasn't sure how long I was feeling sorry for myself. My trembling didn't stop because my tears kept flowing to stain my robes. Damn, now I need Ms. Theodora (the maid) to wash my robes again. Ever since we started our training, she kept complaining to Achilles how we came home battered, bruised, and dirtied. She wasn't upset we were hurt-she was angry she had to keep washing our robes. I wouldn't blame her. I might like doing my laundry, but in this age I'd hate it. Its why we had two sets of robes. I didn't care I was staining my robes with my tear until I could stop them.

My trembling abruptly stopped the moment I heard a low growling sound behind me. All my muscles seized. Wait...That sounds frighteningly familiar. I've heard it many times as I practiced my assassination techniques. I had to run so many times because they came to take my kills and there was nothing I could do about it. Like out of a horror movie, I held my breath, lifting my head, and turned around painfully slow. Behind me was the worst thing I could see on my own.

A pack of wolves were behind me. There were about three of them in the pack, each one with a dark grey coat, and they all had their teeth bared with a low growl erupting from their chests. Their ears were low, threatening. This wasn't your average play growl like they were about to play a game with me. They were on the hunt.

I was on the menu.

Like Connor advised me so many times when he taught me how to hunt, the whole point of it was not to make any sudden movements. Any sudden movements and they would end up my last. I slowly stood to my feet, my eyes never leaving the golden ones of the wolves. Very, very slowly, I flexed my left hand to activate the mechanism of the hidden blade. The familiar blade I've known for a month was a comfortable weight in my hand in the face of danger. My eyes flickered for a possible escape route. I couldn't outrun wolves, but I could try. I slowly inched towards my left where the wolves weren't around. Okay, I can run as far as I can until find a tree to climb. Hopefully.

So, it was now or never.

Summoning what little of my courage I had left, I sprinted towards the trees. Immediately, I heard the angry snarling and growling from behind me. I didn't dare look back because of how close they were getting. If I looked back, I would probably trip and get eaten. I would get too frightened to the point I wouldn't be able to move. So, no looking back!

I sped through the forest, desperately looking for a tree I could climb. Much later I would have realized all the trees were climbable, but I was too panicked to notice. I was too busy running for my life to realize what was logical. When books describe how the main character noticed a logical solution to their problem in the face of danger they made it sound relatively easy. In fact I would yell at the character if they didn't realize what to do instantly. Man, was I regretting that. I couldn't help but curse at my naive self. Shit, shit, shit...!

As I was cursing, whatever force ruled the world decided to screw with me again. All of a sudden, the tip of my boot caught a small ridge on the ground I didn't see. My knee gave out and I tumbled to the ground. My leg protested in pain at the sudden tumble. I tried to ignore that in favor of running for my life but it was too late. Before I could get up, an unfamiliar weight tackled me from behind as my shoulder screamed in pain.

I shrieked at the sudden and sharp pain penetrating from my shoulder. Cursing every god I could think of, I jabbed my elbow to stab the wolf in the ribs to shove it off me. It yelped and the teeth latched onto me let go. I took the chance to shove myself off the ground and get into a stance. The wolves had gone back a little, beginning to circle me. I could spot the one that bit me because of the red blood in its mouth. The same color stained my shoulder and dripped down my arm. Shit. I couldn't even feel my arm. It went numb from the pain resonating from my shoulder.

At this point I realize I was in the worst position for someone of my current ability. I wasn't very good at fighting yet with Connor and Kyle as my only opponents and I wasn't very good at hunting. I was like a newborn with the few abilities I had. Still, with my will to survive I wasn't going to die at the fangs of wolves. I refused to die yet. I gripped my hidden blade tightly. Let's see how well I can fight injured.

The wolves had the same idea. An injured prey was an easy meal. Their hackles raised, one of them ran at me and pounced. I tensed and was about to strike back when all of a sudden something shot into the side of the wolf. It yelped and fell to the ground at my feet. Looking down, I was surprised to see the feathered end of an arrow sticking into the side. The kind of feather used made it recognizeable for me. I looked around to see where the arrow could have come from.

That was a mistake.

The moment I turned my eyes to the trees another wolf ran to attack me while I was distracted. But, by the time I noticed there was a rustle from the trees above and a shadow descended. Connor fell from above the trees to land on top of the wolf. It didn't have time to make a sound as he plunged his hidden blade into its neck and killed it. At the same time there was a bang that echoed throughout the woods. The other wolf fell before it could run. And silence fell.

Connor retracted his blade from the wolf's neck and gave the metal a quick clean. He stood up, turning to face me.

"Arlette, are you alright?" he asked me. I could sense the relief in his voice when he saw me standing. Shocked, but standing. But his eyes caught the blood on my shoulder. He started, quickly making his way over to me to gingerly touch the wound. "You are hurt! Did that wolf bite you?"

"I..." I laughed weakly. "I'm really bad at this."

The world became blurred. The last thing I remembered was seeing Connor shout in surprise as I slumped over and fainted for the second time that day.

* * *

When I regained consciousness the day was already over and it was night.

I brushed my hair away from my shoulder to allow Connor a better look at the bite wound. The wound wasn't as bad as I imagined it would be. Because of my clothes and the amount of layers I had under my coat to stave off the cold, the teeth didn't permanently damage my shoulder. Though, there was a lot of blood. He gently cleaned out the wound with a wet cloth, adding some ointment that would clean out the wound. It hurt like nothing I've ever felt before, but luckily the bit of brandy I had buzzed the pain to a minimum. The taste of it was sour in my mouth.

We were sitting in Achilles' bedroom downstairs where various books were held. I was seated on Achilles' bed with my robes off. All I had on was the undershirt that was supposed to be underwear in this era. Connor stood in front of me to clean out the wound while Kyle and Achilles were sitting at the table in the room. They were playing some kind of game, but I noticed Kyle steal glances at me every few minutes.

"You know," I said, slurring a bit, "staring at me like that won't make the bite go away."

"Sorry," he apologized sheepishly. "I wasn't expecting you to get bitten by a wolf today."

I grunted. I wasn't expecting to get bitten either. After I had fainted, Connor had carried me back to the house and left me in Achilles' room before going to call the doctor. I wasn't sure who the doctor was because when he came over I was still out like a light. From what I was told after awakening, he performed the procedure to treat my wolf bite. Kyle told me the procedure was the worst part when the bite itself wasn't that bad. He said the doctor, Dr. Lyle White, had to clean my bite and stitched the wound. Apparently, while the wound wasn't completely bad enough to damage any of my muscles or tendons (I hope) there was torn skin. When he finished stitching all he told Connor was to bandage the wound so I wouldn't touch it or open it. I didn't even remember any of that happening and stayed unconscious throughout all of it. For once my low pain tolerance kept me knocked out from witnessing one of the nastiest things that could happen in a medical procedure.

"I'm not gonna turn into a werewolf at the next full moon."

"Were...wolf?" Connor cautiously asked. Since he was the one to drive me towards the wolves, he was probably tiptoeing around me to make sure he didn't make me angry.

"Half-man, half-wolf. They turn into men covered in fur on full moons," I explained. "I think most Native Americans had stories about them, but called them shape shifters instead. They had animal forms, too, in the stories other than turning into a huge furry humanoid with a taste for humans. Only way you become a werewolf is if you're bitten by one. It's like a disease that never goes away. Kinda like cancer."

Something small hit me in the head. I blinked at Kyle owlishly. He was smiling in amusement.

"How much brandy did you give her? She never talks this much," he asked Connor.

Connor half-smiled, which in some part of my brain I found cute. He gestured with one hand over to the nightstand by the bed where he placed the brandy bottle after I had some. Almost half the bottle was gone. Did I really drink that much? Why would I? It tasted horrible. Tasted like something died in my mouth.

"Of course it's bitter. Is that her first time drinking?" Achilles asked, grinning himself. Oh, did I say that out loud? From Kyle's grin, that would be a yes.

"The hard stuff? Yeah," Kyle laughed. "She doesn't like the taste of wine. She says it tastes like rotten grapes."

"I don't care if that's how it's supposed to taste like that. That stuff tastes like shit," I argued. "How can people like alcohol? It kills your taste buds and makes me want to chuck it out the window. Stuff is nasty."

"Says the one who drank half a bottle of brandy."

"Know what? Screw you. You're not the one who got bit by a fucking wolf. It hurts like hell." I winced on cue as Connor put gauze directly on the tender wound. I whimpered. It hurt a lot. I wanted to cry because of the pain stabbing at my nerves. "I need opium."

"It is not a serious enough bite to warrant such medicine," Connor scolded. He wrapped my shoulder tightly enough to allow me to move. "You will be fine. You need to let it heal."

"Good. It'll leave a nasty scar, though, won't it?"

"Yes."

"Great. First battle scar I get and it's from almost getting killed by a wolf!"

"Do not be ashamed by it," Achilles advised. He paused from the game, which by the look on Kyle's face, he was winning. He nodded at me. "Surviving a wolf attack is no easy task for most people. You were lucky to make it out alive with what little training you've had this past month. Be proud of what you accomplished."

"I'll try." I nodded at his advise. Connor finished wrapping the wound, tying it securely to not let it fall.

"That should hold until tomorrow," Connor said, inspecting his work. "I do not believe the wound to be serious enough at the moment, but if it becomes infected we shall see Dr. White as soon as possible."

"Alright." I rubbed my shoulder gently, wondering what nasty mark would forever mar my skin. I stood up. "I'm gonna go to bed. Alcohol's making me dizzy."

"You don't have any tolerance for alcohol, you girl," Kyle taunted. Finally, he had something to hang over my head. Not.

"Thanks for noticing my gender," I taunted back. Grabbing my bundle of robes, I said goodnight to all of them. I head down the hall and up the stairs to where my room was near the landing. I was about to open the door when I heard my name called out. Glancing down the stairs, I saw Connor coming up. He stopped near me. "Hey, Con. What do ya need?"

If he was amused by my slurring or the butcher of his name, he didn't show it. Instead, he stared at me straight in the eyes, managing to hold my gaze for more than a second-much longer than I would with anyone else.

"Arlette," he started. "I wish to apologize."

"For what?" His stare had blanked out the rest of my mind not blurred by pain or alcohol. Jesus, it's like looking at one of the wolves again!

"For pushing you off the cliff when you were not ready," he elaborated. "I had thought you would be able to perform it with no hesitation as with the rest of your training. I did not know you had a fear of heights and that is why you hesitated."

"Kyle told you, huh?" I sighed. "No, I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. We're training to be assassins and we have to deal with heights. Heights have never bothered me much, but I'm only fine with it as long as I don't look down."

"Still, it was not right of me to do such a thing. You could have been injured. I did not think of that when I decided to push you."

I smiled. Although at times I might say I hate Connor for a lot of things he does, whether its training or how he can assassinate people, he really wasn't such a bad guy. He was trying to do what he thought was right in the end, even when we don't like his method.

"Well, I guess apology accepted. Just don't do it again."

His shoulders visibly relaxed in relief. Was he really that wound up because I yelled at him? Or was it for another reason? "Alright. I will not do it again."

Whether it was because of the alcohol or some crazy thought that decided to flit through my thoughts, I suddenly found myself throwing out my arms around Connor to hug him. Again, he tensed under my touch. Jeez, does he have touching issues or something? He always does that when people touch him. But, he relaxed again at my next words.

"Thanks for everything, Connor."

"Why are you thanking me?" he asked.

"You've done a lot of stuff for me and Kyle. You protected me back in Boston when we first met, you looked out for Kyle during the Tea party, and, well..." I blushed. I let go of him to rub my neck nervously on my good side. "You and Achilles helped us when anyone else in your position would think we were crazy. No one would believe we came from the future. Really, saying thank you doesn't seen enough to pay you back."

He shook his head. "There is no need to thank us. We wanted to help."

"Uh-huh." For some reason I didn't believe that. There had to be another reason why he would help us, two practical strangers, for no payment in return. Unfortunately, my mind was too muddled to think straight. I wanted to go to bed and end this horrible day. I put my hand to the doorknob again and twisted it to open the door. "Well, night."

"Good night, Arlette."

With that, I shut the door firmly behind me. When it was I slumped against the door with a heavy sigh. Gods, am I an idiot. Two months of training and I couldn't win against a wolf. Again, I started to think I wasn't cut out to be an assassin. I had trouble fending off a wild animal. How would I do against an intelligent human who could think and counter my attacks? Was I really going to survive in this era? I couldn't protect myself much less Kyle or Connor. I banged my head back against the door.

I am utterly and completely pathetic.

* * *

**Sorry! I know I promised I would update this last week but the day I was going to finish this chapter my cousin came over to stay for the weekend. The good news is he helped me a bit to figure out how to treat a wolf bite during this era. He's an AC fan, too, so I asked him for advice on what to do if he were in Lettie's position. Actually, he helped me a lot with this chapter. I ran a scenario of what he would do if he had an apprentice who refused to do a leap of faith to see if it was justified for Connor to push Lettie off. It was a bunch of 'what if' questions. He basically would do the same thing as Connor and push them off then I went a little further like what if they caught the edge before the fell. He said he would make them come back up and do it. If they hung there instead, he would leave them there until they get up. He'd be a mean mentor.**

**Okay, here's a question for you reviewers. What would you do you had to perform a leap of faith for the first time?**

**Please review! I'd love to see your answers.**


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